Count Down To Apocalypse
by ChaosChick12
Summary: In a closed in city, a virus has broken loose killing thousands. It's Blitzkrieg Teams job to go in and rescue any survivors. Of course after meeting the locals, they realize just how dangerous their mission has become. based on left 4 dead games.
1. Ch 1 Meeting The Locals

Inspired by the Left 4 Dead games. I don't own the games, its zombie names, and I also don't own Beyblade or its characters. Just my featured OC.

P.S. check my homepage for notes on my other stories as well.

Tala: 19

Kai: 19

Spencer: 21

Bryan: 20

~*Meeting the Locals*~

"I'm sure all of you know about the virus that has swept the city. Most of the populace has been evacuated, but some weren't able to make it out in time. It's our job to go in, recover what civilians we can, place our charges all over the city, and then get out before those charges go off. Any hostiles that you encounter you are to issue only one warning. One. After that you are to open fire and eliminate them. Try not to waste your ammo. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" The men replied as head officer Kai took his seat. He, along with his team, was heading to the recently quarantined city.

A recent epidemic had broken out, a disease that quickly swept through three major cities. In two of the cities they'd managed to contain the disease and rescue many of the people there. But in the third city, the smallest of the three, the disease had spread quickly, wiping out over eighty percent of the population. What few were left was quickly evacuated before the city had been sealed off. Of course, not everyone was able to make out and had been left inside the now blocked off city. Many people had quickly made their way to a phone, radio, whatever they could find to communicate with the outside world and called for help. The calls had kept coming in for a few weeks, becoming more frantic as the weeks passed until they'd finally come to a stop. It was only recently that one team could be spared to help whoever was left inside the city, if anyone was left. The team was young, and not quite as experienced as some of the other soldiers, but they were some of the best at what they did.

"Its looks like a wasteland." Kai turned to look at his second in command Tala who sat beside him, staring out the window.

"You'd never know that people had been living there only a few weeks ago. Now look at it." Kai glanced out the window to look over the destruction as well.

Vehicles were overturned, many bashed in or singed from an explosion. Many buildings had gaping holes in the sides of them. The less damaged ones only had broken glass or doors. Debris covered the road, making it impossible to drive anything through the city for very far. A few fires could still be seen burning in some of the smaller building. And every now and then a lifeless body could be seen lying around somewhere.

"It looks like a war zone down there. I wonder what happened to make those people start fighting amongst each other." Tala said softly as he continued to gaze at the barren city.

"Survival of the fittest. You see how high and thick those steel walls are built. Nothing within that city would be strong enough to bust a hole in them. People probably started to give up hope and began raiding supplies all around. Turf wars probably broke out and thus began the blood bath." Bryan shrugged his shoulders as he slowly moved his gaze away from the window.

"Who knows what we'll find down there." Spencer whispered as he looked at his teammates.

"Remember, be on high alert at all times. Never let your guard down." Kai hollered as they drew closer to the drop off point.

It didn't take long for their pilot to find a clear enough spot on one of the roads to drop them off at. All of them made sure that they had all their gear before jumping off the chopper. It was going to land outside the city and wait for them to signal when they were ready to be picked up. Once the chopper rose back into the air and cleared the city, everything became still. A slight breeze blew through the desolate buildings, creating a howling type sound.

"So where are we gonna start oh great leader?" Bryan smirked as Kai just rolled his eyes.

"The last transmission received was from a nearby bank. We'll start there." Kai replied as he clicked the safety off his gun.

The four slowly made their way down the street, picking their way through the debris as they scouted the area. Despite how eerily quiet and dead the city was, it didn't bother the men. They'd had to inspect the last two cities. Compared what they'd had to do in the two much larger cities, this was nothing to them. Dead bodies, blown up cars, destroyed buildings, it was nothing new to them.

They rounded a corner and eventually spotted the bank. Two stories high, plane grey walls, glass and bits of the structure missing. As they got closer they could see that the doors had been forced in as well. Without a word they split up into two teams. Tala and Bryan taking the upper floors, while Kai and Spencer completed their sweep of the lower floor.

"The vault was tampered with, but hardly anything is missing." Spencer called as he exited the vault.

"Papers are scattered everywhere. Bullet holes in the desks and a few in the walls. Plus some blood splatter every now and then. But nothing to serious." Kai reported as he glanced up to see that Spencer had found the portable radio used to call for help.

"Shit. This thing's totaled. Looks like whoever was hiding out here was either forced out or killed and disposed of." Spencer shook his head as he slowly stood back up.

"Anything to report up there you two?" Kai called as he looked up to see Bryan and Tala still rooting through the upstairs.

"Nothing on my side." Tala called back.

"You guys might want to check this out." Bryan hollered over the railing as the rest hurried to his position. When they reached him, the lavender haired male just pointed to the floor.

There lied a woman and her child. Clothes torn, multiple stab wounds all over, a pool of blood surround the two. But that wasn't the worst of it. Their flesh was an off grey color, sunk into to their bodies and pulled tight across their bones. In certain areas, skin was missing to reveal muscle, bone, sometimes organs. The stench coming from them was gut wrenching, but all of them were able to hold it together. But just barely.

"How does someone degrade that fast? It usually takes months to reach a state like this." Spencer muttered as he looked over the two. Being the medic of the team, he was the only one who could make any sense of it.

"Maybe it was that virus that struck the city. It probably sped up the degrading process, leaving only that." Bryan commented as he looked over the two again.

"Who would do this to them though?" Kai asked softly, referring to the multiple wounds on the two.

"Apparently we're dealing with some really desperate people here." Tala hissed, angered at what he saw now.

"We better move on. There are still other places that we have to check." Kai said as he turned away from the horrific site.

The other four slowly followed him as they headed back downstairs and out of the bank. To the south, a loud explosion could be heard. Shortly after that the radio began to crackle with static. Someone was trying to contact them. Bryan pulled the small radio off his back and began to mess with the dials until he was able to pick up what was going on.

"Hello? Can anyone hear us?" a frantic voice called over the radio. Gunshots could be heard in the background.

"Bryan see if you can reply back to them." Kai asked as Spencer nodded, already working on it.

"This is Blitzkrieg Team. We were sent to help you. Can you tell us your location?" Bryan could hear nothing but static and wondered if the message had even gone through.

"…..We're at the south end of the city! Near a convenience store and office building. Hurry we're being ambushed! Please hu—"

"The signal was lost." Bryan whispered as he looked up at Kai. All of them had heard the urgency in the call.

Without a word the four gathered their gear and began to hurry in the direction that the voice had told them to go. It wouldn't take them long to reach their position since they were on the south side of the city already. They just didn't know if they'd make it in time. The image of the mother and child flashed inside all of their heads at once, only driving them on harder. It wasn't long before they spotted a torn up office building across from a convenience store.

"No…" Tala whispered as he looked at the sight before him.

Bodies were lain out all over the roads. Most face down, blood dripping from wounds in their backs, legs, arms, wherever. The four just walked around, slowly taking in the sight before them. They had been too late to help. Too late to stop the massacre before them. Kai could feel anger rising in him. Blaming himself for what had just happened. Bryan was near a body that lied next to a radio. He knelt down, to try and see the full extent of the damage. Even though he didn't care to see it, he knew that he had to assess the damage.

"Don't move." A male voice hissed from behind him, holding the tip of a gun to his head. "Drop all your weapons now!"

The other three turned to see Bryan being held hostage. One by one all of the 'victims' slowly began to rise, pulling their weapons out from underneath them, wiping the fake blood off their faces so that they could see better. Bryan was pushed to the center with his team as a few of the people stepped forward to strip them of their weapons and packs. All the four could do was watch as they rifled through their bags, looking for something in particular. Kai growled as he watched this, can't believing that he walked into an ambush. Tala kept his eyes trained on the leader looking him over, sizing him up. As he glanced over him, his eyes were drawn to a particular spot on his neck. A dark mark, almost like a bite mark, was oozing and smelled horrible. Much like the corpses of the woman and child in the bank. The surrounding area was a dark grey color and his skin seemed tighter in that area. He looked over the rest of the followers and saw that they all had similar markings. Some in a more advanced state than others.

"Sir, there's nothing here that can help us." A woman called as the guy switched his gaze from the team to her.

"What do you mean there's nothing there? There has to be something!" He hollered as the woman flinched. Without warning, he aimed his gun at her and fired, killing her on the spot.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Someone else yelled. The man just turned and shot him too.

"Anyone else?" He growled. When no one answered he turned his gaze and gun back to the group. "How is it that a damn military team doesn't have a fucking antidote for this shit?" The man hollered as he waved his gun around.

"Antidote for what?" Spencer asked as the man turned his gaze on him.

"For the virus that's what! Why else would you be here?" The man hollered again as he glared at them.

"Our mission was to gather up any survivors and help get them out. We were told of a war breaking out in the city and that's all that we would have to deal with. According to our data, the virus wasn't active anymore. So we weren't sent with an antidote." Kai stated, trying to think of a way out of their current situation.

Meanwhile….

"I see the infection is finally starting to drive him insane. That's what happens when you're not careful." A girl sighed as she lowered her binoculars.

"I have them in my sights. Just tell me when." A smaller boy said as he prepared his gun.

"Tonya, Ian, a small group has just caught wind of the blood of the two killed. They're on their way over now." A voice crackled over the small walkie talkie Tonya held.

"Give me specifics Kenny." Tonya clicked as she watched the leader rant and rave more.

"Mainly a hoard, but I do see a Boomer in the group. That's all. No others in sight." Kenny clicked off as a thought came to Tonya.

"Ian, you thinking what I'm thinking." Tonya grinned down at him as he stood up.

"I'd say it's time for a little pay back." Ian nodded as he packed up his gear.

"Enough! I'm tired of all your lies!" The man hollered again as he shook his head.

"We're telling you the truth! If you just come with us we can get you help!" Spencer hollered as all guns shifted to him.

"No! No more! We're just gonna take your supplies and go. But first." He smirked as he lowered his gun, ready to execute them all.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A female voice hollered as all eyes shifted to where it'd come from.

The girl moved her long brunette hair behind her as she stood there grinning at them. She was dressed in a torn purple tube top that only covered half her stomach. She wore regular dark jeans that had the bottoms tucked into black shin high boots that gave her about two inches. On her back hung a long range rifle, hanging by holsters strapped around her shoulders were two hand guns. Clips of ammo hung on her waist, as well as a few grenades and knives. In her hands, a fully automatic machine gun.

"Tonya, what are you doing here?" The man hissed as he trained his gun on her.

"Oh you know, just taking a stroll. Figured I'd meet your new friends here and show them around the neighborhood." She smirked as he growled at her.

"You know this is our turf. You're trespassing here." He grinned as he stepped closer towards her.

"Just like you were trespassing on my turf when you attacked and killed mine for no reason. Figured it was time I pay you back in full." She grinned as she raised her own gun.

"It's ten against one! You don't stand a chance in hell." He grinned as his finger tensed, ready to pull the trigger.

"See that's where you're wrong. It's actually two against ten, plus them." Tonya nodded with her head to the area behind them.

Stumbling towards them was about twenty people. All grey, all missing chunks, blood dripping from the various holes in their bodies, looking much like the dead woman and child from earlier. The people seemed to be sniffing the air, looking for something. Like hounds tracking down a fox before the kill. It didn't take long for one of them to smell the coopery metallic blood oozing from the two dead bodies near the group. The leader looked from the swarming horde to the bodies and finally to the smirking Tonya. Most of the followers were too frozen to realize what was going on until it was too late. The swarm fell on them, attacking swiftly without mercy. Tonya easily dove into the group, taking out her fair share with only one shot wasted on one of the zombies. The four guys didn't waste time in retrieving their ammo and taking fire, trying to help out as much as possible.

"You bitch! You led them here! I kill you for this! I kill you!" The boss hollered, raising his gun to Tonya. He just listened as it clicked repeatedly, signaling an empty gun. He'd used up too many rounds on the zombies.

"Hope you enjoy hell. Ian now!" Tonya hollered as she saw a flash out of the corner of her eye.

Ian took aim from atop the roof he was on and shot the boomer in his chest. The bigger zombie began to expand and Tonya wasted no time as she shoved the boss towards the Boomer as it exploded, making sure most of the spray landed on him. When the other zombies smelt the bile on him, they dove on him like a pack of wolves and began tearing him limb from limb as his dying screams rang out in the area, ignoring the other pickings for the time. Tonya waited until the boss finally stopped fighting, signaling that he was dead. She, along with the help of the sniper Ian, easily took out the remaining five zombies. Tonya was covered in the blood of the zombies, but it didn't bother her. She looked around to see that only the military team was left alive. All others had been slaughtered. She just nodded as she walked over to the boss and placed a bullet in his head before moving to the rest of the group and doing the same, salvaging what weapons she could in the process.

"You guys going stand there or help me salvage these weapons?" She glanced back at them as they just stood there looking at her.

"How could you kill him like that? And we're those last few bullets necessary?" Tala finally asked after a few minutes of silence. Tonya stood up, holding as many guns as she could as she turned to face him.

"Simple. One, he killed five of the people I was protecting in cold blood. I owed him. Two, he was about to kill you and I can't let that happen. You're the only ones who can help those I'm protecting. And three, he was bitten. He wouldn't have lasted more than a week before turning into one of those." She motioned to a zombie lying near her feet. She'd said it so matter-of-factly, as if it was no big deal to her. "As for why I put an extra bullet in those people's heads, if the brain is mush then they can't come back and cause us trouble. If the brain isn't in tact, then it can't be restarted."

"Thank you, for helping us." Kai finally said, taking a step towards her. Even if she'd just murdered all those people before them, he was grateful she'd spared their lives.

"These boys act like they've never seen a slaughter before." Ian finally chimed in, taking up his position by Tonya.

"Don't start Ian. Come on, we got work to do." Tonya said as she reloaded her gun and started walking. She handed off some of the guns to Ian who put them in a sack that he was carrying.

"If you boys wanna live, I suggest you tag along." Ian hollered as he hurried to catch up to Tonya.

* * *

This is just a preview for a story I'm thinking about continuing. But I want to see what everyone thinks first. So if you can please review after you've read all the preview chapters it would be great.


	2. Ch 2 Listen and Learn

~*Listen and Learn *~

"Geez, this place is a dump." Ian wrinkled his nose as he looked around.

The building was damp, cluttered with junk, and stunk to high heaven. Many of the old boards were rotted through in the ceiling, making the roof very unstable. Most of the blankets lying on the ground were wet and a few had mold growing on them. The stench of rotting flesh clung to the air in the decaying building from all of the infected people that had once lived there. The four just watched as the two kicked things aside, moved boxes, tossed clothes around, trying to find something.

"What are you guys doing?" Tala asked as he watched them sift through all the junk on the ground.

"If those people lasted this long they must've had supplies that we can salvage. Food, medical equipment, not to mention weapons. When you guys are ready to pull your thumbs out of your asses, feel free to help." Tonya snapped as she continued her search.

"So this doesn't bother you? Stealing from dead people?" Bryan asked sarcastically as he watched her throw a box aside.

"You can call it stealing if you want. We call it survival. In here you do what you can to make through the day. So if stealing from dead people help out those that rely on me, then yes I'll steal from every last person here. You could drop dead now and I'd still take your stuff to help out my group." She shrugged as she stood up.

"Bingo! Found the stash!" Ian called from the other side of the room as he tore off a piece of the walling to reveal bags of food, medical supplies, and weapons.

"Take the food and medical stuff first. We can always come back for the weapons." Tonya crossed the room as she picked up a pack from the ground and began loading stuff into it.

"Tonya, there you are." A man said as he ran into the building, holding a small computer in his hands with a gun strapped to his waist.

"What's up Kenny?" She looked up at him as Ian continued to fill up a second pack.

"I completed my search of the area. The loud crash we heard earlier was from a helicopter that got shot down. It was sweeping the city until those morons opened fire on it. Went down on the other side of the wall." Kenny reported as he scratched his head.

"Wait, you mean we're stuck here?" Bryan hollered as he grabbed Kenny by his collar.

"Drop him now or I'll drop you where you stand." Tonya commanded as she held her gun to Bryan's head. The older guy gradually put Kenny back on the ground and Tonya withdrew her gun. "Whether you like it or not you're stuck here with us now. Which means you listen and learn or you'll end up dead. Got it?" She looked at the other three, daring them to challenge her.

"Well since you boys are sticking around for a bit, you can help out." Ian chuckled as he threw a pack at the soldiers.

"Who's best with a gun?" Tonya asked.

"Kai and me." Tala spoke up as Tonya nodded.

"Good, one of the others can carry that pack. Kenny you get the other one. It's getting late and we need to get back before it gets dark." Tonya said as she looked towards the setting sun. "Come on boys let's get moving."

"Damn Kai, she puts you to shame." Tala whispered as Kai just shoved him and followed her out.

The small group walked in silence as they kept their senses on high alert. You never knew when something would sneak up on you. Tonya led them through the city, sticking to the main streets that way they could see from all around and pick a good vantage point before the enemy swarmed them. The shooters stayed up front, while Kenny and Spencer stayed behind them with weapons of their own just in case.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Bryan asked as he stopped and looked around. The others just kept walking, unaware that he'd stopped.

"Hear what?" Spencer asked, stopping beside his friend. Kenny stood with them wondering what was going on.

"It sounds like…crying." Bryan said after awhile. "Coming from over there." He turned to his left to an old hat store that was cast in shadows.

"Did you say crying?" Kenny asked, an edge to his voice.

"I'm gonna check it out." Bryan clicked on his flashlight as he headed for the building.

"No! Don't go near it!" Kenny hissed as he tried to block his path. He was slightly smaller than the older guy, but that didn't discourage him.

"What if it's a survivor? Unlike you we don't leave people up for the slaughter." Bryan shoved the smaller man out of the way as he made his way to the entrance of the building.

"Tonya! Ian!" Kenny hollered back as Spencer wondered why he was freaking out so much.

Inside the building, Bryan slowly snuck around in case one of the zombies was waiting for him inside. He could hear the crying growing louder as he moved further back inside the building. He turned the corner and lowered his flashlight as he found the source of the noise. A woman, curled into a ball, sitting in the corner. She barely had anything covering her as she sat there crying. Bryan kept his light down, not wanting to spoke her as he slowly crept towards her.

"Ma'am, it's ok. I'm here to help you. Here, let's get you out of this corner." Bryan said softly as he held his hand out to her.

The woman slowly turned, her crying ceased. Her eyes flashed an unnatural yellow color as she looked up at him before screeching at the top of her lungs and attacking. She easily tackled Bryan to the ground as she began to swipe at him with her extremely long and razor sharp nails. They easily tore through his jacket and ripped up his flesh as he struggled to knock her off. Despite her how frail she looked, she was strong and weighed a lot.

"Shit!" Tonya hollered as she saw the woman already on top of him.

She didn't waste time as she fired at the woman three times, hitting her dead on. The woman looked up from Bryan to Tonya who was shining a light at her to gain her attention. It worked. The woman quickly charged across the room and knocked Tonya down. The brunette was prepared as she fell, using the momentum to fling the woman off of her. Tonya pulled herself up into a crouch as she reached for one of her knives and flung it at the woman, striking her in the temple. It temporarily dazed her, which was all Tonya needed. She quickly crossed the room and drove the knife further into the woman's head as she screamed and clawed at Tonya. When the woman finally stopped fighting, Tonya pulled the knife out of her head, wiping the blood off on the woman.

"What the fuck was that?" Bryan hollered as he scooted away from the lifeless body, even though he was nowhere near it.

"A Witch. Next time Kenny tells you something listen." Tonya hissed as she glared at Bryan. The other had entered by that point and Spencer rushed over to help Bryan.

"She didn't bite you did she?" Kenny asked as he looked over Tonya.

"No I'm fine. Hey dumbass, were you bit?" Tonya called as she looked at Bryan.

"I don't see any bite marks. Why?" Kai asked as he looked from his injured friend to the less beaten lady.

"I'll explain later. From now on don't stray from us. Next time I won't save your ass." Tonya turned on her heel as she exited the building to wait for the others.

"What's her deal?" Tala asked as he folded his arms. Ian scoffed at them as Spencer slowly helped Bryan up.

"She's the reason we're all alive now, why we've avoided them for so long. You all may think we're cruel because we're able to shoot and kill these things without feeling any remorse. But that's how life is out here. You fight for survival and do whatever it takes to keep on living. Tonya found that out a long time ago. You may think all your military training may give you the upper hand. But I would sooner follow her into a war than any of you." Ian snapped, defending his leader.

Ian left the four inside with their thoughts. His words echoed in their heads. They wondered just how horrible things had been during the height of the virus. When things had first turned chaotic in the city. What they must've seen to shift their view of things so drastically. Even in the other two cities, they hadn't seen anything like what was going on here. Ian had them pegged dead on. Their training hadn't prepared them for what they were facing. To live with hope so close, just beyond the walls, and not be able to reach it. To have to fight on a daily basis, not knowing that if you step outside that it could be your last step. To wonder if you're going to die of starvation, being slaughtered by one of the zombies, or worse still….turning into one of them.

"Kenny I'm fine." The four heard Tonya say as she gently pushed his arm away.

"But you're bleeding." Kenny pointed to her arm where a gash slowly had blood dripping down her arm.

"It's not that deep. I'll be fine. We need to get this back to the others first. They need it more than I do." Tonya smiled as Kenny reluctantly dropped it.

"Look who finally decided to join us." Ian sneered as he adjusted the gun on his back.

"Sorry, we didn't know any better. We'll listen to you more carefully next time." Kai promised as the rest of his team nodded.

"Let's get moving. We're losing sunlight and it won't be long before others come here due to our blood. Last thing we need it to be caught out here in the middle of the night."


	3. Ch 3 New Additions

~*New Additions*~

The four remained silent as they followed the three through the streets as the sun set on them. The two were discussing tactics and which places they would check in the morning, while Kenny just stayed close by fiddling with his computer. It didn't bother them that the other four were silent, or that they were keeping a close eye on them. They knew how untrusting people were and didn't blame them. Especially after the way Tonya had snapped at them earlier. After picking their way through the street for thirty minutes, Tonya stopped and faced them.

"Well boys, this is home for the night." Tonya motioned to a thick concrete building not too far from them.

"It's no five star hotel but it works." Ian said as he yawned.

"How long have you been out here?" Kai asked as he moved up to walk beside Tonya.

"I found this place about a month or so after the virus broke out. As you know it wiped out more than half the city when it first struck. How the rest of us survived, no one knows. Those that didn't die right away became severely sick. Those that couldn't fight off the sickness began to mutate with the virus. Thus giving birth to those zombies you saw earlier." Tonya said as she grabbed a reflector and waved it around, reflecting the sun's dying rays. Two more reflectors could be seen in response as she continued to lead them in. "Can't be too careful now." She grinned as she led them up through the stone gates.

"Not a bad place you picked." Tala commented as he looked around.

"Plenty of sniper vantage points, only one main entry that those things know about, and an emergency escape route that we can use to evacuate everyone if we need to." Ian smirked as he adjusted his sniper rifle.

"Do you know exactly how many people are left?" Spencer asked as they entered the building.

"As far as we know, we're the only group left. Those guys that were taken down today were the only others." Kenny muttered as he followed Tonya up the stairs. "A few rouges might be left, but other than that we're alone."

Ian pushed by the four as they froze on the stairs. The reality of his words had just sunk in. Only a handful of people were left. To think that the thousands of people that had been trapped were either dead or one of the more dangerous undead roaming around. In just a few weeks the numbers had dropped drastically. It was even a miracle that these people were alive at all.

"Hurry up or we'll lock you out." Ian called from upstairs. The four snapped out of their daze as they hurried up the stairs.

Once inside, the door was locked, latched, and barricaded. When the soldiers looked around, they could only see a small group of six others sitting together eating. Add the two snipers on the roof, plus Tonya, Ian, and Kenny that only added up to only eleven survivors. Tonya put the guns down and unlatched the belt around her waist as she took a seat separate from the others. The other two followed her lead as the four stood near the door.

"Tonya, who are the new guys?" A deep voice boomed from their left. The two snipers from earlier walked in and placed their weapons on a table as they took a seat within the group.

"A team sent by the military. How were things while I was out Rick?" Tonya asked as Ian and the other shooter moved to take a seat in the circle. She motioned with her head for the small team to join them. Kenny went to work on distributing food and medical aid to their small group.

"Quiet. Most of those monsters are still snacking on what's left of that huge group that got cornered a few days ago. They've been fighting a lot more than usual, which means that the virus has run its course in some of the first ones. But more are being created from the corpses that aren't totally devoured." Rick sighed as he leaned against the stone wall.

"Is all our equipment still running Kenny?" She glanced back at the computer whiz to see him hunched over his minicomputer.

"Cameras are functional. Trip wires are all reset around the perimeter. There's no way they can sneak up on us without our knowing." Kenny nodded as Tonya just nodded in return.

"How are we on food and medical supplies Tyson?" Her gaze shifted to a man who was finishing the count.

"With what you brought back today we should be good for another month if we ration carefully, even with our new additions. I take it you finally got even with him?" Tyson asked as Tonya turned her attention back to the others.

"A Boomer did all the work for me. After that it was just a matter of finishing off the hoard." Tonya shrugged.

"You never did tell us why those people shot down our helicopter." Kai finally spoke up as all eyes turned to him.

"The virus makes them crazy." A female with pink hair said as she finished off her food.

"As Mariah said, the virus can drive a normal person crazy. The infection doesn't happen right away. It takes about a few weeks to take hold. When it does it drives you mad and eventually turns you into one of them if you're not killed off by those zombies first." Tonya threw a folder towards Kai that held photos and had written pages.

"What are these?" Kai asked as he looked through the pictures, handing them to the men once he was done.

"Some of the more drastic mutations. As far as we know, there are only four major ones. The Boomer, Smoker, Tank, and Witch is what we've been calling them." Ian sounded as he drank from his water.

"The Boomer is what you saw earlier today. A fat zombie, covered in oozing sores. They can produce vomit that acts like catnip to the other zombies. That's why they turned away from us and attacked only that bastard. You shoot them, they can still cover you in bile and it'll still have the same effect." Ian took another swig as Rick took over.

"That one's the Smoker." Tyson said, pointing to the picture in Tala's hand. "They're pretty easy to spot, since they cough and hack like someone who's smoked all their life. They have long tongues that can strike from a distance and strangle you till your dead. One reason why we never go out alone."

"I take it this one's the Tank?" Spencer asked, holding up the picture with the biggest zombie yet.

"Huge, muscular, fast, and hard to kill. Not too many people mutated into those. But there are still about three or four on the loose. If you see one just get out of the way. If those things hit you at full blast they'll snap half the bones in your body. Easily confused though." Rick said as he took a drink of water.

"And the Witch." Bryan whispered as he just looked at the picture as the attack replayed in his mind again.

"The fastest of them all. Like the Smoker, you'll hear her before you see her. Long razor sharp claws. Focuses only on one victim. Even if you do manage to kill her quickly she can deal a lot of damage. As you've found out first hand." Tonya nodded at Bryan as she gathered up the pictures and tossed them back on the metal rack behind her.

"So what are we going to do? If these guys were supposed to be our way out they won't be much use now since they're transportation was shot down." Mariah said as she looked at Tonya.

"They can still help us. Since they can actually handle a gun we can finally head to the west side of the city where that radio tower is." Tonya spoke softly as all the others stared at her with wide eyes.

"Are you crazy? That place is swarming with those things!" Tyson hollered as he shook his head.

"Didn't you hear Rick? Those things are starting to fight amongst each other now. The numbers are dwindling fast. Besides, all we have to do is set off an alarm on the other side of the city to draw their attention away." Ian grinned as he thought about killing more of the zombies.

"Of course, we'll still need help. Kenny should try and contact any remaining rouges and see if they'll help. Offer them the thought of freedom and they'll more than likely jump at it." Rick offered as Tonya nodded.

"So it's settled. We'll rest tomorrow and then move out. As for who stays behind, we'll figure that out later. For now get some rest. Mariah take first watch. If you see any large groups wake us." Tonya said as she stood. Mariah nodded as she headed to the table to get a rifle before heading to the roof.

"Bryan, go with her." Kai commanded as Bryan rose to follow the girl, his own weapon in his hand.

"Rick, find them something to sleep on. Tyson make sure everyone else is ok before going to bed please." Tonya yawned out the last word as she walked off by herself.

The others all made themselves busy while Tonya headed off around a corner. Rick was able to scrounge up some old single mattresses and laid them out near his own little cot. Probably to keep an eye on them at night. Tyson handed them some food and water before returning to his own bed near the main group while Kenny fiddled with his computer some, lying near the monitors that were linked to the cameras and sensors outside. Tala looked back to where Tonya had retreated for the night as he began to eat. Rick followed Tala's gaze and just chuckled as he dissembled his gun to clean it.

"Bet you're wondering why she's our leader huh?" Rick asked as Tala turned back to him. Kai and Bryan listened in, sitting on their beds near them.

"The thought had crossed my mind." Tala replied after swallowing his food.

"Those of us that had survived the after math of the virus were shaken. Locked inside the city, with no place to go. Chaos broke out. People began looting the place left and right. Killing each other over the littlest things. Then those 'things' started popping up all over. People were offering each other up for the sacrifice to save their own skin. I had been one of them. My own friend had left me to die after a Tank had slammed me into the wall. My ribs snapped, thank god that was the worst that had happened. I lied on the ground, thinking I was going to die as they moved in to kill me. But then— she stopped them. Ran right into the thick of them hitting then with her gun as she stood over me. She fought off the small hoard as the Tank turned its attention to her. I remember yelling at her to run, to just go. But she just yelled at me to shut the hell up as she distracted the thing and led it off away from me. I thought it had killed her when she didn't return right away. Next thing I know she's limping around the corner, blood covering half of her as she stumbles over to me, Ian running to her side not too long after that." Rick laughed weakly at the memory as he turned to look towards Tonya's room. "And you know, she's only eighteen. The youngest of us, except for the kids."

"She'll never leave anyone behind. She'll risk it all to help someone if she can. That's why anyone of us here would follow her to our deaths. I already told you this earlier today." Ian chimed in from behind Rick as he took his spot next to him. "We don't know why she chose to help us exactly, but what I do know is that none of us would be alive without her. I was the first one she helped. Nearly choked to death by a Smoker. Rick was next, then Kenny, Tyson, Mariah, and so on till we are what we are today."

The three soldiers fell silent as the others went to ration out food for the night. Spencer decided to check and see if anyone had any medical needs he could attend to. Kai pulled Rick aside, wanting to talk to him more about what had happened here. Leaving Tala to just sit there with nothing to do. Right as he was about to lie down, he heard a voice cursing lowly from around the wall. He got up to see what it was.

"Damnit!" He saw Tonya closing her eyes and grit her teeth as she wiped the gash on her arm with an alcohol swab.

"Need some help?" She looked up to see Tala grinning at her.

"Not like you'd go away if I said no." Tonya sighed as she threw the swab away.

Silently Tala grabbed the bandages and wrapped up her arm. He made sure it wasn't too tight as he did so. Tonya inspected his work as she twisted her arm around, making sure she still had plenty of mobility. She nodded as she took the medical supplies from him and began putting them away. Tala just watched silently as she did so.

"So only if they bite you they'll infect you?" Tala finally asked as Tonya glanced back at him.

"Yeah. Otherwise none of us here would be alive. You can be scratched, burned, spit on, but only a bite will turn you. The most I have to fear from this is losing my arm and maybe dying from infection. But it wasn't too deep and I should live." Tonya shrugged as she walked back around to oversee what was going on.

"I take it you've had worse?" Tala arched an eyebrow as she only nodded. "How do you keep doing it?"

"Shouldn't the answer be obvious?" Tonya asked as she motioned to the small group before her.

"What if they weren't here? What if it was just you?" He didn't know why he felt the need to ask those questions, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I'd still fight till those things got me. I'd still have hope that I could make it out, even if no one came for me. This is nothing compared to what I've already lived through." Tala could see a far off look in her eyes. He wondered just what she'd been through that had been worse than this. "Besides, I still have some unfinished business left to take care of. Only then will I give in to death. And even then I'll go kicking and screaming." She smirked as Tala just nodded in response.

"Alright everyone lights out." Rick called as everyone made their way to their little beds to try and sleep for the night.

* * *

Alrigt after reading the first two it's time to let me know what you thought and if I should continue on with it.


	4. Ch 4 Finding Out the Truth

Chaos: Well since people have reviewed, and threatened, here is another chapter finally!

I don't own beyblade or its characters just my OC.

~*Finding Out the Truth*~

Morning came and the groups were decided. Tyson and Mariah were to stay behind and guard the base while the rest all headed out on the suicide mission. It was still early by the time they'd set out. The sun was barely rising and activity was at a minimum. Not wanting to risk it though, Tonya kept them all on the rooftops. Planks acted as bridges as they crossed from one building to another. All were silent as they kept moving forward, focused on the task at hand. The only sound that could be heard was Kenny typing every so often on his computer. After traveling for a while they finally stopped on one roof, scanning the area below.

"Is this is Kenny?" Rick asked as they glanced down from the roof they were on. A parking lot littered with old corpses and smeared blood was all there was to see.

"Yes. He's hiding in that fortified room there." Kenny pointed to a door that was covered over with steel with the windows covered with bars for extra protection.

"I see he's changed his location again. Alright then boys let's do this. Rick, Kai, with me. Ian you're in charge of watching our backs." Tonya didn't even look back as she hopped off the roof and landed gracefully on the landing only ten feet below her. Rick followed without question, but Kai hesitated a bit before following.

"So who exactly is it that we're seeing?" Kai asked as he fell behind Tonya.

"One of the rouges. He's on our side only because we share our supplies with him. This is his 'fortress' so to speak." Rick said as he glanced back at the shorter man.

"Refused to join us at our base but is always passing along information." Tonya shrugged as she kicked the door to let him know they were there.

"Polite as ever now aren't we?" A voice called out as locks could be heard clicking open.

The door opened and a man stood before them. Worn, dirty clothes were all he had on and he smelt like he hadn't showered in days. He scratched his head as he looked at the group before him, slowly analyzing them all. His eyes landed on Kai, still in military uniform, as they narrowed a bit before returning his gaze to Tonya.

"Nice to see that you're still alive Michael." Tonya nodded as he spat at the ground near her feet.

"Now why do you have one of **them** with you?" Michael asked as Kai wondered what he had against him.

"They're stranded here like us. The last infected group shot down their only way out. So now they have to help us or be left to die." She said matter of factly as Michael stepped aside to let them in.

"So I take it you guys need something if you're paying me a visit." He sighed as he sat down, Tonya moving to sit across from him.

"Man you've found some nice stuff since we last saw you." Rick whistled low as he looked around at all the fire power lying around the room.

"Where do you find all this?" Kai asked as he picked up some of the things.

"Michael's a scavenger. He's able to go out by himself and find stuff for us. Most of this stuff he's modified himself." Tonya said as she motioned to everything in the room.

"Enough with the small talk, what did you come for this time?" Michael asked as Tonya turned back to him with a smile on her face.

"I want you to join us on one final raid."

Thirty minutes had passed since the small group had entered into the building. The others all stood at attention outside, keeping an eye out for any of the zombies roaming around. Every once in a while one would walk nearby. But since they were up so high none of the zombies could smell them. A few times Bryan was tempted to just shoot those that walked by.

"I still don't see why I can't just snipe their asses." Bryan grunted as he lowered his gun.

"That would attract unnecessary attention to us. The less they notice us the better. Believe me, if everything goes as planned in there you'll get plenty of chances later." Ian commented as he leaned up against an old A.C. unit.

"What exactly are we doing here anyways?" Tala asked, turning to look back at the group.

"The guy in there is Michael. He's been one of the reasons we've been able to survive for so long. Somehow the guy has a knack for scavenging. Hasn't been caught yet." Kenny said as he looked up from his laptop.

"And we need him why?" Spencer asked as he sat near Ian.

"Because the guy is the only one who's ever made it back from where we're going." Ian spit on to the roof as he glanced back to where the meeting was taking place. "I just hope he agrees to lead us."

"Wait, I thought you knew where this place was?" Tala asked as he walked towards them.

"We do. But we don't know the interior of it. We tried raiding city hall but all records of everything were destroyed long ago. Michael used to work at that place. So he knows it like the back of his hand." Kenny pushed his glasses up on his head as the three soldiers just looked at each other.

"It pays to know what you're walking into. This way we know how many rooms there are, where the stair ways link up, how the rooms connect to each other, and so on. We can better prepare ourselves for what we're walking into if we know the layout of the building." Ian pushed himself back up to check around.

"It all depends on whether Michael will lead us or not." Kenny sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Why wouldn't he? Asides from the obvious answer of all the killer zombies." Bryan asked as he leaned forward.

"Simple, Michael hates soldiers." Ian shrugged as he turned at the sound of a door opening.

Tonya, along with the rest walked out. With one new addition. A reluctant Michael was all geared up and ready to go. But he didn't look too happy about it. The others joined them shortly and the three soldiers could see that Ian hadn't been kidding. When Michael looked at them, it was a look of pure hatred. Tonya shot him a look of her own and Michael reluctantly turned away.

"If you weren't so good at sweet talking." Michael griped as Tonya merely grinned. "Alright. So you all know that our plan of attack is to head to the radio station. That place is still swarming with zombies. That's also where some of the worse mutations live."

"Wait, worse mutations?" Ian asked as Michael nodded.

"Yeah. I recently ventured over there, to see how conditions were. Some of those things have mutated beyond what we know. So I suggest no wandering off, no lagging behind, and don't waste your ammo. Communication has been down over there for some time. There may be survivors and it's possible we're the only ones alive. If a person is alive we can try to save them. But if they're bitten best to shoot them on site and offer them that small luxury." Michael said as he checked over his weapons.

"Just in case things were clear here's how it'll all play out. We head there, get in, send a message if we can, and get out. If anyone gets hurt we'll do our best for you. But the mission comes first. And if anyone gets bitten you better tell us immediately." Tonya glanced into the eyes of them all, making sure they got the message.

"Is that so you can put a bullet in our heads?" Kai asked, a little annoyed at how cold she was being.

"At some point yes. But the virus takes a few weeks to take hold completely. So we'll hold out for you as long as possible. And this applies to everyone, even myself." Tonya confirmed as she looked at Kai, wondering if he wished to comment again.

"Well if that's all let's get a move on!" Rick hollered as the others nodded in unison.

All of them hiked in silence, taking to the roads this time. Everyone's senses were on high alert as they proceeded into the heart of all the chaos. Michael leading the way with Tonya not too far behind. Normally Kai would be right up there with her, not wanting to seem weak in front of his men. But after what he'd heard today when he'd been inside the small room, his perspective had changed. Of course his team wondered what was wrong with him. But they knew he'd tell them when he was ready.

They marched on in silence covering a lot of ground. Only running into the occasional zombie that they easily dispatched with. Since they'd made such good time Michael found them a safe spot and allowed them all to rest for a bit. It didn't surprise them when Kai's group sat apart from them. They all knew the reason all too well. The other three just waited until finally Bryan felt the need to break the silence.

"So mind telling us why you've been so quiet?" Bryan asked as Kai stared off into space.

"And why you're taking back seat to that girl?" Spencer added as Tala stayed silent.

"We've been played…" Kai finally said after a few minutes.

"What do you mean?" Tala asked as he looked at his friend.

A few hours ago…

"I can't believe you're honestly asking me to team up with them!" Michael hollered as he knocked his chair over.

"You know I wouldn't ask if there was any other way to do this." Tonya replied calmly as Rick stood ready to restrain Michael if need be.

"No! I won't do it! I recognize those uniforms Tonya. They're from the same group that damned us in the first place." Michael hissed as he pointed a finger at Kai.

"Just what exactly are you insinuating? That BIOVOLT had something to do with this? We were the only military team available in the country. The rest are still cleaning up the first two cities." Kai snapped as he stepped closer to Michael.

"Better keep your dog on a leash Tonya." Michael spat as Kai moved to hit him.

"That's enough!" Tonya hollered as she stood up, stopping Kai as Rick restrained Michael. "You back up before I decided to hit your ass, you calm down or I'll let Rick do it for you. There's only one way to settle this." She said as she rummaged through Michael's stuff. She found a camera that still somewhat worked and handed it to Kai.

"Just play the tape." Rick encouraged as Kai flipped open the small screen and began playing the tape.

At first it was nothing but explosions, screams, fire and smoke rising into the sky as people ran about trying to hide. Gunshots rang out as whoever was working the camera struggled to keep from moving. Finally the person was able to turn and lock on to what was going around. And what Kai saw froze him to the core. Soldiers, clad in the same uniform as him, were storming the streets. Cutting down everyone that was running to get away from them. Grenades were being thrown, people flew, and limbs were separated from their bodies. Many of the people were left half alive, still bleeding and suffering as the soldiers mowed down everyone in sight. It wasn't long before whoever was holding the camera was shot dead, slowly dying in front of the camera.

"What the…" Kai whispered as he listened to the carnage continue.

"That was shortly after the virus struck the city. Those soldiers were sent in to eliminate us all. They were gonna blame the death of everyone on the virus. So that no one could tell the world about their awful secret. Those of us that survived that genocide were trapped within the city. And that's when the even greater massacre of those monsters began." Michael sank back down in his chair as he fought back tears. "Those bastards killed my family."

"If you all knew then why—" Kai looked to Tonya who finished for him.

"Why save you? Why bring you with us? Because while we don't care much for who you work for we need your help. Don't think for a second that anyone here doesn't have reason to hate you and your comrades when you're a constant reminder of why we're here. But we're not petty like some of the other people who would've killed you on sight. We won't throw away our only chance at survival. And as much as he would like to put a bullet in you and your team he won't. Not when I can give him the revenge he wants." Tonya stated as she turned to Michael who's head had snapped up.

"What do you mean?" Michael asked as Tonya grinned at him.

"Simple. I knew the instant that I saw their uniforms that BIOVOLT planned on finishing what it'd started. So it's very simple. We radio for help, get everyone we can on board, hijack the helicopter they send for us, and get the innocent to safety. From there I plan on letting them take me to their leader. You're not the only one with a score to settle Michael. Don't forget that." Tonya nodded at him as Michael felt hope rise within him.

"Wait, you don't mean?" Kai looked at them all as Tonya's true plan finally sunk in.

"Can you honestly blame us Kai? After what they've done to us and millions of others? Someone has to stand up and strike back. We all knew this plan since Tonya brought us all together. BIOVOLT had been the ones to create the virus, they were the ones who killed so many innocents when they could've worked to find a cure, and now they plan on wiping out the rest of us. Think about what you just saw Kai. If your mission had succeeded and you had delivered us to wherever it was you were supposed to go, you honestly think they would let us live?" Rick asked as Kai began seeing some truth to his words.

"I'll tell you what they would've done. Either killed us on the spot or use us as lab rats." Michael hissed as he made a fist. Rick placed a calming hand on him as Michael just closed his eyes as silent tears fell.

"Kai since you and your team have been so kind to us, so far, I'll promise you this. No one will harm you as long as I live. We all need each other to make it out of here. When and if we all survive, I'll give you a choice. You can choose to leave with those we've protected and any others we find or you can stay loyal to BIOVOLT and try to take us down. But as long as we're within these walls, we have no choice but to depend on each other or fall." Tonya stated simply as Kai just looked from her to the camcorder still in his hand.

Present

None of them wanted to believe what Kai had told them. But they knew Kai would never lie about something like this. Plus he still had the camera and offered it to his teammates as they debated on whether or not they wished to see it. Their minds were made up for them when they heard a low whistle, signaling for them to move on. They quickly gathered up their stuff.

"So, you finally told them?" Rick asked as he fell back with them. The others looked at him as he held a carefree smile on his face.

"Why is it that you're so calm, yet he looks like he's ready to kill us?" Spencer asked as he motioned towards Michael.

"We all deal with grief in different ways. To me you guys are just like us, trying to survive. To Michael all he sees is the soldiers that killed his family in front of his eyes. Even though you guys work for that company, not like it was your fault. Obviously you didn't know about anything that had happened otherwise you wouldn't have let that group shoot down your ride on the first day. And if you are then you must be hell a good actors." Rick shrugged as he walked with them.

"We don't have to worry about him putting a bullet in us as we sleep right?" Tala asked as he kept his eyes on the agitated Michael.

"No. For two reasons. One he knows that if he crosses Tonya she'll put a bullet in him without hesitating. Two he has too much respect for her to disobey an order for her. He knows that she doesn't play around with anyone, be friend or foe." Rick looked at the smaller girl ahead of him and the others could see the devotion in his eyes for her.

"Alright boys. So who's ready to walk into hell?" Tonya asked as she loaded her gun, grinning back to all of them as she led the charge.

* * *

Well kinda short but oh well. Figured I'd get that in before we jump into the action. Next one I promise will be longer (hopefully) and will definitely have more action. In the meantime you know the drill!


	5. Ch 5 Promise

Finally got another chapter up! Man it's been so long since I've updated. But I finally did it. Now if I can do the same for my other stories I'll be good. I hope you all enjoy this chapter though folks.

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade or its characters, just my OC's. Also don't own Left 4 Dead zombies

~*Promise*~

"Eyes sharp everyone." Tonya called out as they headed into the infested zone.

It'd taken them a couple of days to get to the south side of the city. While in a car it would normally take about an hour or so to reach their destination. That is if you don't factor in all the rubble that blocked the direct routes. They had to constantly back track themselves in order to find another way around or over the block before moving on. So far the only resistance they'd run into was hoard zombies. None of the more drastic mutations. With all this, plus having to stop and rest, it'd hindered their progress a bit. But it wasn't like they had anything more important to do.

"If there's nothing blocking our path, which is highly unlikely, we should be able to head up this road and be there within a few minutes or so. See that antenna there?" Michael pointed up at a still blinking antenna

"That's if the locals decide not to come say hi." Tala remarked as he rolled his shoulders to work out the stiffness of having slept on concrete for the past nights.

"No more talking." Rick commanded as they all fell silent the further they went in.

Of course, they didn't really need to worry about anything coming after them. In the distance they could hear guns firing. Glancing around all could see that any zombie within a two mile radius was headed towards the commotion. Without a word they all took off to help whoever the fools were that had wandered out here on their own.

Earlier….

"It was a simple mission. How did those morons manage to mess this up?" Brooklyn sighed as he looked around the abandoned city.

"Well it doesn't matter. We're stuck here till we find them. So no sense in complaining about it." Garland said, ending the conversation.

A few days had passed back at headquarters with no word from Blitzkrieg Team. They'd tried to contact the helicopter, but could get a signal from it. They tried to contact the team through the radio that they should've had on them. All they got was static. With no word from them, base sent out another team. The top team. They were to find out what happened to Blitzkrieg Team and finish the mission should something have happened to them. Garland had wasted no time in gathering up his team and heading out for the quarantined city. They'd flown over the city a few times to see if they could spot any survivors from the air. But no one was spotted. Leaving two members with the helicopter, Garland and his second in command Brooklyn had hopped off on the southern end of the city and began their search.

The two didn't exactly know where to start, so they just picked a direction and headed towards it. The stench of rotting flesh only got stronger the further they proceeded within the city. Limbs from bodies were scattered everywhere. Some still had skin on it, others were just bone with bits of muscle and blood left. The two did their best to ignore the limbs as they kept an eye out for whatever had done this.

"Hey, Garland." Brooklyn called out as his captain turned to see what he wanted.

Slowly walking towards them was a woman. Her hair was a mess, suit torn to shreds, walking with a broken ankle and blood foaming from her mouth. Her skin was a slight yellowish grey color and she was missing an arm. Multiple wounds covered her as dried up blood clung to her poor figure. Both wondered just how bad off this woman was. Garland slowly walked towards her, holding out a hand.

"Ma'am. We're here to help. We can take you out of her and get you treatment." Garland said softly as the woman finally focused her eyes on him. They were dark pits of nothing. "Just come with us."

Garland stepped closer to the twitchy woman, not noticing the small microphone still attached to her suit. The frequencies of his radio and her microphone collided, sending out a high pitched noise all around them. Garland backed off, covering his ears as the woman growled and lunged for him. Finger on the trigger, Brooklyn fired off a shot that killed the woman where she stood. But it was too late. The noise had already attracted many others all around them. People, or what was left of them, began to converge on them as they fired shot after shot. It was like a never ending sea of monsters. And the worst was yet to come.

"What the fuck is that?" Brooklyn asked as both temporarily forgot what was going on to look at the monster before them.

Making its way through the crowd was what appeared to be a very tall woman. She sets her sights on them and begins lumbering very quickly towards them. Both of them back away, shooting at her which wasn't doing much good. Brooklyn took aim at her head and began to pull the trigger to put her down once and for all. But he never got the chance. Something wrapped around his neck and began to drag him away as he fought his hardest against whatever it was strangling him. Brooklyn looked up to see a guy staring down at him, with his tongue as the noose.

"Brooklyn!" Garland hollered for his comrade as the huge woman was upon him.

She gagged a bit before spitting a green liquid towards Garland. He managed to avoid most of it, but little drops fell on to his arm and began to eat through his sleeve. It was acid. It slowly made its way through his clothes and on to his skin as he hollered in pain. He did his best to ignore the liquid eating away at him as he struggled to help his dying friend. One of the smaller ones knocked him aside.

"You guys help him! Ian shoot that Smoker now!" Tonya hollered as she ran through the thick of them to help the choking man.

Ian did as he was told and easily shot the Smoker in the head, taking him down. Brooklyn drop like a bag of rocks, attracting the attention of the zombies closest to him. Tonya pulled out two small handguns and began firing on them as she rushed to his aid. Ian gave her cover fire as the others rushed to help Garland. Kai rushed in as his team followed behind closely. But in their haste no one paid any attention to the woman. She looked at all of them and took aim as she began to gag again. Rick saw this and quickly tackled her to the ground as her acid sprayed into the air, some raining down on Rick.

"Get out of there now!" Michael hollered as he produced two homemade bombs.

Doing as they were told they gathered up their fallen comrades and made a dash out of there. Michael let the bombs fly as they exploded on the ground, flames engulfing the rest of the zombies around them. The small group watched as the zombies all slowly died away, the flames going with them. As the last of them fell Ian and Spencer made sure to put rounds in their heads for good measure before moving on. Once that was done, all eyes were on the two soldiers.

"Hey thanks, we would be dead if you hadn't come along." Garland grinned as he looked at them. But that grin was wiped clean as he stared down the barrel of Michael's gun.

"Michael hand me the gun." Tonya commanded as she held out her hand.

Michael reluctantly handed it over to her as the two began to relax. But Michael wasn't done. He swung once, striking Garland in the chin as Rick moved to hold him back. Brooklyn raised his gun in defense as two others were pointed at him. He looked at the survivors and then to the team that just stood by and was letting this happen.

"Why are you just standing there?" Brooklyn asked as he pleaded with them.

"Because they know their only way out is with us. Unless that broken piece of shit there still works?" Tonya asked as she motioned to Garland's broken radio. "Now I suggest we find a place to rest before I reconsider leaving you two here to die."

After finding a suitable place to camp out, they barricaded the place up tight before heading up to the top floor and relaxing. Rick kept a close eye on Michael as Tonya and Ian talked strategy with Kai. The bluenette couldn't bring himself to be around the other two right now. Not after knowing what he knew now. Spencer had checked the two newcomers over to make sure they had no bites and took care of any other injuries they'd sustained. But Garland was tired of waiting around. He wanted answers, now.

"Does anyone mind explaining what the hell's going on?" Garland demanded as all eyes fell upon him.

"What does it look like to you dumbass?" Ian replied as Garland shot a glare at him.

"Both of you, that's enough." Tonya said calmly as Ian just huffed and turned away. "Will one of you please explain the situation?" She waved in the general direction of Kai's team as they all looked at each other. Tala finally cleared his throat and spoke.

"As you can see this city is far worse than anything else we've encountered. The virus has mutated the inhabitants drastically. A few were able to withstand it as you can see." Tala motioned to the few survivors as Garland nodded for him to continue. "The reason we're still her is because our helicopter was shot down shortly after arriving here by a rouge group that has long since been disposed of. We hooked up with them in order to try and reach that radio tower out there to send out a message to headquarters. There are a few others that were left back at their base, but other than that we haven't encountered any other survivors."

"That explains why we haven't heard from your team." Garland said softly as he thought it over. He glanced up to see a seething Kai and wondered what was wrong. "Something wrong Hiwatari?"

Kai snapped out of his thoughts to look up at Garland. He wanted so bad to blurt out what he knew. To tell Garland and Brooklyn what he knew about the virus and how their organization was involved. He wondered exactly just how deep this all ran. All kinds of questions kept running through his mind. Did BIOVOLT release the virus on purpose? Or was it all really an accident? How far up did the conspiracy run? Was Garland's team in on the whole thing? They were the highest ranking team within BIOVOLT. But as Kai thought about opening his mouth, one look from Tonya was all it took to silence him. It wasn't a look of hate, or one that was full of ice that he'd come to expect. It was one that said to wait and see how it all played out.

"It…It's nothing sir." Kai finally breathed as he turned away from the group.

"It's getting late. We should all get some rest. Gonna be a long day tomorrow." Rick sighed as he and Bryan took up first watch.

_._._

"I'll take it from here." Brooklyn said as he traded off with Spencer on shifts.

He watched as a sleepy Spencer stumbled off to join the others to catch a few hours of sleep before the sun rose. Currently it was only him and Kenny up at the moment. Which was about to change. Brooklyn moved softly, from years of military training, and snuck up behind Kenny. All it took was a quick hit to the head to knock the smaller boy out cold. Brooklyn caught him before Kenny's limp body could fall and make a noise that could wake the others. Moving just as quietly he snuck over to where his captain laid feigning sleep and gently nudged him.

"It's done sir." Brooklyn whispered as Garland sat up.

"Good. Maybe now we can get something accomplished." Garland grinned as he pulled out a flare gun from his pack.

It hadn't taken long for the two to decide that they weren't going to play by the rules that the others had set out. They'd already seen how unstable Michael was. And both knew that Tonya was keeping everyone silenced about something. Brooklyn had seen the exchange between Kai and Tonya earlier. So since the others weren't going to play fair, neither were they. Communicating only with hand signals the two moved away from the sleeping group. Sneaking across a few close roofs, they put plenty of distance between them and the sleeping group. Just in case any of them decided to wake early and tried to stop them.

"Ready with your flare?" Garland asked as he loaded his up.

"Whenever you are captain." Brooklyn smirked as he loaded his own.

"Mmm…ugh what the?" Ian mumbled to himself as he looked around. He immediately swept his eyes over the sleeping bodies and noticed that a certain two were missing, with an unconscious Kenny face first on the roof.

Before he had a chance to wonder where they'd taken off to, he heard two distinct shots go off. Another two booms sounded as the whole area was illuminated by the combined bright red lights of the flares. Ian tore his eyes away from the still lit flares to the two standing underneath them, wearing proud grins upon their faces.

"Fuck!" Ian hollered as he turned and began waking the others.

"What the hell?" Bryan muttered sleepily as the others all began to rouse.

"You've got to be shitting me." Tonya murmured as she looked up into the sky. Not too far from them she could hear the growling sound of growling and running increasing. "Grab what you can and move! Now!"

Tonya hollered as she gathered up her weapons quickly. The others did as they were told, not having to look to know how many zombies were waiting for them below. Below the zombies had begun ramming the door in order to break it down, while more rushed inside the other building where Brooklyn and Garland were standing on. Being the closest to Michael, Tala reached over and grabbed a pipe bomb out of his pack and lit it quickly. He threw it in the middle of the horde and turned away as it blew the zombies in all different directions. When he turned around he saw the others already making their way off the roof and heading towards another roof.

"Tala move your ass now!" Rick called out as he let loose the first shots.

As soon as Tala took off, Rick followed quickly behind him. But upon hearing more shots fired, Tala glanced up to see Brooklyn and Garland outnumbered. He cursed under his breath and quickly darted off to help the two who were quickly becoming outnumbered. Rick shook his head as he followed suit while the others kept running. Tonya glanced back to see the two break away from them and shook her head.

"What are they doing?" Tonya hissed as she watched them.

"Tonya we have to keep moving!" Kenny hollered as the others had stopped to see what the holdup was.

"There should be a safe spot not too far from here. I remember crossing it a few weeks back. If we can get there we can barricade ourselves in." Michael hollered as he waited to see what she was going to do.

"Alright then. Take this group and keep moving. Mark the way for me so that we can follow you!" Tonya hollered over her shoulder as she took off to help the others. Spencer started like he was going to follow her, but Kai held out an arm to stop him.

"But Kai—" Spencer started to argue, but stopped when he saw his leader shake his head.

"No. They'll be ok. Come on the best thing we can do now is clear the way for them." Kai said as he turned his back and picked up a slow jog, the others reluctantly following.

Back on the roof the other four were barely making their way off as the swarm of zombies began to slowly overtake them. Tala and Garland were the first two off the roof, with Brooklyn making his way down as Rick provided cover fire. He was backed up all the way to the edge as Brooklyn made one last jump down, twisting his ankle. As Brooklyn was pulled out of the way, the others saw that there was no way for him to make it down without a zombie latching on to him. None of them could give him cover from this angle. And Rick was slowly realizing that too. Just as the closest zombie to him was about to latch it's teeth down, it dropped to the roof with a thud. Another dropped just a few seconds later and another. Rick didn't stop to look and see who had saved his ass. He just hurried down the building to join the others on the ground. Once he was safely down Tala threw another bomb on to the roof and turned to cover as the explosion threw up bits of debris everywhere. He glanced back to see that most of the zombies had fallen into the hole that had been created, buying them a little time.

"So…which one of…you saved…my hide?" Rick asked between breaths as they jogged to catch up to Garland and Brooklyn.

"Wasn't me." Tala said as he turned to look ahead.

"What took you boys so long?" Waiting for them with a long rang rifle in her hands was Tonya.

She turned her happy gaze from them to the two still slowly making their way. In two quick motions she'd slammed the butt of her gun into Garland's gut and struck Brooklyn in the face with the barrel. The two men just glared at her as Tonya motioned to Rick who nodded as he picked up Brooklyn and put him on his back.

"Next time I suggest you two listen to our rules. Otherwise I won't allow them to save you again." Tonya turned her back on them as she led them up the hill.

The small group ran in silence as they heard the zombies finally break free. Tonya fell to the back of the group with Tala as they killed any zombies closing in on the. Rick was ahead, looking for any signs that the others may've left for them. Finally they spotted a marker hanging from a piped that jutted out from the side of a building. Amazing how a little glow stick could bring so much hope. Tonya was proud of Michael and the others. They put up plenty of blocks and killed off any zombies that had already been in the area. It was slow going, but the group finally made it to the safe spot. The last marked hanging above a car turned on its side. Tonya and Tala turned, providing cover fire as Rick forced Brooklyn up first before he pulled himself up.

"Argh!" Tonya glanced back to see one of the zombies riding on Tala, scratching at his face as Tala struggled to try and pull him off.

"Garland I need your—" Tonya started to holler, but stopped when she saw him pulling himself to safety.

She cursed him as she rushed to help Tala. Above her she could Rick covering her as she tried to help out Tala. Turning her back to the zombies she took careful aim at the one on top of Tala and squeezed the trigger. The zombie went limp as Tala struggled to throw it off. But as he finally managed to get himself untangled, a single scream broke through the zombies hungry growls.

"Aaah!"

Tala turned to see two zombies latched on to Tonya as she struggled to beat them off. He rushed over to her, knocking one away as he put the barrel of his gun up to the other and blew half its head away. He wrapped one of her arms around him as he helped her over to a waiting Rick who easily hauled her up to safety as he soon joined them. He quickly turned his gun back to the ground, ready to fire at any more that were trying to climb up as Rick carried Tonya into the safe house. Tala followed soon after, Michael sealing the door shut behind him.

"What the hell happened?" Ian hollered as he saw a bleeding Tonya lying in Rick's arms.

"Spencer!" Bryan hollered as he took off his jacket to provide a makeshift pillow for her. Spencer wasted no time in cleaning Tonya's wounds as she hissed from the pain that the cleaning alcohol brought.

Tala felt numb as he looked over to Tonya who was lying there as everyone did their best to help her. Michael was working on barricading the door for extra protection just in case they somehow broke the locks. And huddled in the corner? The two who'd caused all this mess.

"You….cowards!" Tala hollered as he stormed over to the two. Garland rose to meet his challenge, staring into his eyes showing that he wasn't going to back down.

"I suggest you stand down now. I wouldn't want to hurt you." Garland grinned as he grabbed Tala by his collar.

"Both of you knock it off!" Kai hollered as he separated them.

Garland just smirked as Tala looked away, Kai keeping a close eye on him. But he hadn't been expecting Rick. The older man tackled Garland to the ground and began punching him repeatedly. Brooklyn couldn't do anything but watch as Rick knocked the crap out of his leader. It took both Kai and Bryan to peel him off of the once cocky man as he spit out blood from where he lay.

"It should've been you! Not her!" Rick hollered as he struggled against their grip. Michael wondered exactly what was going on as Tala turned his glare back on to Garland.

"What exactly did we miss?" Michael asked as he walked over to them. But when he looked from the angry men to Tonya, who was now cleaned up, the pieces fell into place. "Are those?" Michael asked as his eyes widened.

"Yes. While he saved his sorry ass, Tonya turned to help me. Turning her back on the zombies. That's why she was bit." Tala hissed as his hands curled into fists.

"I couldn't get them all. The two moved so quickly…" Rick shook his head as he sank to the ground, pounding it with his fists.

"Rick, don't blame yourself." Tonya finally spoke as she forced herself up into a sitting position. "What's done is done."

"But Tonya." Ian started to argue, but she wave it off.

"I'm damned. That's all there is to it. I can at least help you all till then." She sighed as she shifted her gaze from them to the two cowering in the corner. "Just promise me this. When I get close to turning, leave me alone with them before killing me ok?"

For a second Garland and Brooklyn thought she was joking. But the way she grinned at them with her ice cold eyes told them otherwise. The two looked around at everyone in the room, but most refused to meet their gaze. The only ones that did were Ian, Tala, and Rick. And from the way they looked at them, they knew that they wouldn't do anything to save them if she decided to make good on her threat.

"I suggest you two sleep with one eye open from now on. Because as soon as I start to lose it, you'll be who I go after first." Tonya promised as she turned her back on the two, leaving them to contemplate what was to come in the future.

* * *

Always wanted to make Garland seem like a coward he he :) He just seemed like a cocky character to me so I had to bring him down a few pegs. Anyways I'll start working on the next chapter soon. As mentioned before updates may take awhile but I won't let this story die. So just bear with me.


	6. Ch 6 One Option Left

I finally got this done! For those who have been waiting I give you the next chapter!

P.S. Special thanks out to those who have stuck with the story. I know this update took quite awhile but since I'll be starting college soon most updates will be this long. So bear with me because I refuse to let this story die.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or its characters, just my OC. I also don't own the Left 4 Dead games or its characters.

~*One Option Left*~

"Finally here." Michael said as he looked up at the radio tower. "Feels like it's been ages since I've last been here."

"We can reminisce later. Let's go." Bryan loaded his gun with a click as the small group made their way in.

All flashlights were on as they made their way inside the dank building. Wires hung down all around. Desks were turned over. Holes had been blown in walls. The building looked like every other place in the city. What amazed everyone though was the fact that Tonya was still leading the charge. Despite the many protests from Ian, Rick, and Kenny. All she had Spencer do was clean out her bite wounds and cover them up.

"You sure you're ok?" Kai asked as he glanced over at Tonya's wound on her shoulder. It was a nasty purple color and slightly swollen.

"I'll be fine. Besides, the sooner we get this done and get help, the sooner you guys can put a bullet in my head." Tonya huffed as she climbed the stairs.

"You're really willing to let us just shoot you? What if there's a cure for this?" Tala asked as he stuck close by.

"If there is a cure then hooray for me. But I wouldn't hold my breath. Besides, I'd rather be shot by you guys by choice, rather than let myself be turned into a monster." Tonya shivered, the first sign of weakness she'd shown the guys since first meeting them. "Of course if I do turn, don't forget my request."

She glanced back at Brooklyn and Garland who both stopped under her gaze. Both were forced forward by Rick who was bringing up the rear. He refused to let them out of his sight. The small group continued up the stairs. Eventually they reached the floor they were looking for and gathered together.

"Alright, there's two different rooms here that'll have radio equipment in it. They're pretty close to each other. So what I advise is splitting into three groups." Michael looked around at the others who all nodded in agreement, except for two.

"Why do we have to split into three?" Brooklyn whined as he avoided putting weight on his bad ankle.

"One team will watch the stairs. This is the only way up and we'll need someone to alert us in case those things decided to follow us. And the other two teams will take one room each and test the equipment." Michael stated as he looked over them.

"Alright then. Brooklyn, Rick, Ian, and Bryan will make up one team. Myself, Garland, and Michael will make up team two, while Tonya, Tala, Spencer, and Kenny will make up the other team. Any questions?" Kai asked as he looked around. He saw Garland bristle but he didn't care. He wasn't going to let him run out on them again.

Without another word the three groups separated. While the one group stayed behind, the other two made their way down the long hall. A few turns later they arrived at the first room. Tonya's group took that one while Kai's group moved on to the next one.

"Ugh, why does it have to be so dark?" Garland complained as he stubbed his foot on a filing cabinet.

"All power was shot when the city was torn apart. But of course you wouldn't know that since you weren't here to help out." Michael snapped as he moved towards the equipment in the center of the room.

It was standard equipment used for a radio station channel. Michael rooted around the control board for a while, looking for certain wires. Having worked there he knew how to splice the wires and get out a simple Morse code message. That is if there was still enough energy stored up within the circuitry. In the other room Kenny was doing something along the same lines. Only he connected the wires of the control panel to his laptop that only had half a battery of life left. Which would be more than enough if they could get it to work.

"Damnit! This thing's shot Tonya." Kenny sighed as he unplugged all the wires from his laptop.

"Go see if Michael's got anything."

Kenny just nods as he ducks out of the room, the others slowly trailing behind him. Spencer turns to head back to the others waiting by the stairs. Tala starts to head into the other room, but stops when he notices Tonya lagging behind. He slowly walks back into the room and places a hand on her shoulder as she turns from the window to him.

"How are you feeling?" Tala asks as she turns away from him.

"Like I need some air."

She pushed past him and on to the emergency exit just around the corner that lead to the roof. Tala hollered back to the rest of them to let them know where they would be before following her out on to the roof. He watched as Tonya hunched over and just puked right there. He pulled her hair out of her face as she puked a couple more times, taking in deep breaths to help keep herself calm. Once done she wiped the remainder of any puke from her face and stood up.

"Thanks." She wheezed as she turned away from him again.

"You need to rest. You've been pushing yourself too hard." Tala said as he tried to coax her into a sitting position.

"Doesn't matter. At this rate I probably won't last longer than a couple weeks at most before the madness starts to hit me." Tonya sighed as she sat down on an old box. Remnants of when others had last been there.

"I thought you said the madness doesn't strike that quickly?" Tala just watched her as Tonya just stared off over the top of the roof.

"Yeah well that's only if you have one bite. Remember I have two and those damn zombies had a pretty good grip on me. So it's safe to assume that everything is going to be sped up." She spat on the roof as her hair fell over her shoulder.

"You know you shouldn't think like that." The red head advised as he moved closer to her.

"Better to expect the worse." She sighed as she looked at her hands. They were shaking slightly as they rested on her legs. She clenched them into fists before looking up at Tala. "If I don't make it out of here, can you and your team please make sure that everyone else gets out of here safely?"

"Of course but—" a curt wave of her hand silenced him as she continued.

"No buts. Just make sure they get out. I can guarantee you that as soon as those bastards get the chance they'll turn on everyone that I'm fighting to protect. They'll more than likely try to turn on you too. So I suggest you never let your guard down around them. After all, you saw how easily they left me for the slaughter." Tonya laughed weakly as she shook her head.

Tala didn't know what to say. Here she was, already putting precautionary measures in play for those she'd left behind, when she should be worrying about herself. He glanced at the covered up wound on her shoulder. Blood had seeped through the bandages and he could see the skin around it turning a nasty purplish green. He wondered exactly just how she could keep herself going. Even knowing that nothing but death waited for her once this was all over.

"Promise me Tala." Tonya said weakly as she lifted her head and looked him directly in his eyes.

"I promise." He held out his hand as she shook it.

"Thank you." The two smiled at each other softly as they just enjoyed the moment.

"Tonya? Oh there you are." Kenny sighed as he walked out on to the roof. He wondered why exactly the two were standing so close, but chose not to say anything.

"What's up Kenny?" She wheezed as she fought a wave of dizziness as she sat up straight.

"Everything is shot. We can't establish a good connection long enough to get a message out. This tower is a bust." Kenny reported as he hung his head. "Sorry boss."

"So what now? How are we going to get a message out?" Tala asked as all eyes fell on Tonya who was deep in thought.

"There is one other possibility. But I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this." She sighed as she stood up and looked out over the ruined city. "There's a base, hidden underground. It's set up on a different system so it should still have power and some functioning systems. We can use what's left there to get a message out."

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Tala growled as he began to shake in anger. "Instead of making us risk our lives on this trek. We could've been rescued by now!"

"Enough!" Tonya hollered as she stood up and locked gazes with Tala. He broke eye contact first as she took a deep breath before continuing. "I didn't tell anyone because it'll be more dangerous going there than it was getting here. That underground base holds some of the worse possible mutations. They're less in numbers but far more dangerous. One bite will turn you instantly and will warp you on the spot. This was just a walk in the park for what awaits us down there. There's a reason why I didn't mention it before."

"Should I go tell the others?" Kenny asked, wishing to be out of the firing range as soon as possible.

"No. I'll tell them all myself. Just go join them for now." Tonya said, in a softer tone as she turned away.

Kenny nodded as he took off, leaving the two alone on the roof. He was just glad that Tonya's gun wasn't currently in her hand otherwise he would be worried for Tala. The other two just stood there, Tala staring at her while Tonya just looked out over the city. A light breeze picked up as she closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feel of it on her skin. Her pain was temporarily ceased and she wanted to enjoy this peaceful moment while it lasted. Especially since she didn't know how many more of them she would get to enjoy before a bullet was placed in her head.

"What else are you hiding from us?" Tala asked after what felt like an eternity of waiting.

"Plenty." She replied without turning around.

"Do the others know about the base?" Tala watched as she turned partially towards him as a smirk played on her lips.

"They know it exists. There are even things I hide from them." She giggled weakly as she held her arm. Pain was beginning to flair within it again and it took all she had to keep her facial expressions in control.

"Some leader, hiding things from your own men." Tala spat as he glanced at the ground.

"They know enough to keep them alive." Tala's eyes widened as he looked back at her. "Because of what BIOVOLT did in that base is why all this has happened. They're reason that all of them are caught in this mess. I already had a vendetta against BIOVOLT long before this. That is what I keep hidden from them. And they know it. They have enough trust and respect to leave it at that. I don't expect you to respect me, but you don't have any choice but to trust me. Just like we have to now trust you and your team."

"Tonya, Kenny told us what you plan to do but are you sure that…Oh, are you busy?" Michael asked as he looked from one to the other.

"No. I was just about to rejoin the others. We need to come up with a new plan of attack." Tonya said sternly as she strode past Tala with her head held high. Michael's eyes trailed her until she disappeared down the stairs.

"What did you do?" Michael sighed as he slowly turned his gaze back towards Tala.

"We had a friendly chat was all." Tala commented sarcastically as he held gazes with Michael. The elder man arched a brow at Tala who just huffed and looked away.

"Such an immature boy." The red head bristled at the insult as Michael slowly shook his head.

"How am I immature? When she's the one refusing to tell any of us anything! Withholding vital information from everyone. Even you." Tala snarled as Michael looked up at the sky.

"Oh, so this is about BIOVOLT. I see now. I had a feeling that it would come to that." Michael said without looking away from the open blue.

"Wait…you knew about the base as well?" The young soldier boomed as he started walking towards the man.

"I didn't find out by choice. And just like Tonya, I wouldn't recommend going there unless it was our only option." Michael said as he slowly turned and walked away.

* * *

A lot of talking I know but I owed them all a break after the last chapter. Dropping a few hints here and there as well. Questions that I'm sure a few of you are wondering: What exactly went on in the base? How does Michael know about it? And will they all make it out alive? Well you'll just have to keep reading to find out! Reviews are always welcomed my friends!


	7. Ch 7 Secrets

Woo hoo! Managed to get this done before school started. Just so all know I did make a small change to ch 3 just so it would be right in this chapter. It's not a big change so it probably won't matter but I felt that I should let everyone know. Enjoy!

~*Secrets*~

"Status report."

"Sir, it would seem that the other two cities have been contained and any of those who survived the outbreak have been brought in to be dealt with. Even though damage was high, the outbreak was manageable in the two larger cities. As for our final base we aren't quite sure of the status of that city. While we did manage to eradicate most of the infected and establish a barrier around the city, there are still a few survivors it would seem. Blitzkrieg team was sent to investigate, but we haven't heard anything from them. A short time after BEGA team was sent to retrieve the missing unit and bring in any remaining stragglers if possible. While we have contact with their pilot and two other team members, we've heard nothing from Captain Garland and his Lieutenant Brooklyn. The remaining reported a signal flair about a week ago, but when they flew over saw nothing there except the infected. That's all we know right now sir."

"Understood, you're dismissed."

The man bowed before disappearing out of sight. The commander sighed as he looked into the room he was currently standing outside of. Inside were scientists garbed in protective gear as a safety precaution while handling the deadly virus they currently worked with. Floating in tubes around them were the various test subjects recovered from the two contained cities. A weaker strain of the virus had hit the other two cities, so the worst anyone would've suffered was death. A cure had been created and distributed quickly. They were able to blame those incidents on biological war fair since high ranking bases had been established in either city. Those that the cure couldn't do nothing for were taken in and used as lab rats for various experiments since they couldn't be cured anyways. Some were injected with the virus and were lucky to just suffer a short time before death. Others had to endure the endless pain of the virus as it ate away at their body as it slowly drove them insane and warped their bodies and minds until they were just mindless creatures that thirsted for flesh and blood.

"Checking in on the subjects again commander?" a man asked as he stood beside his leader.

"Boris have you anything to report?" the man asked as Boris's face lit up.

"It would seem that our little virus can manifest itself in different forms depending on the host. Some become much stronger than the norm and when presented with fresh meat, they have a very unique way of killing. There's one brute who enjoys beating his victims to a bloody pulp before ripping them apart. Quite messy actually and very brutal. Takes the clean up crew forever to wash the blood and whatever else remains away. And there's another who is quick as lighting. He prefers a much quicker kill than his counterpart." Boris chuckled as he thought about it. "What I would give to see them in their natural habitat. I wonder how many of these unique beings sprung up within that little city."

"It is interesting to see how our virus has worked out. Even though it was released sooner than expected. And to think this all started with simple cancer research." Voltaire chuckled as he looked at one of the test subjects.

"I must say though, it is quite peculiar as to how many were able to fight off the infection. Even with it at full strength at least a third of our test city survived the virus. So it seems that we still have some tweaking to do." Boris shrugged as he faced his boss.

"There will be plenty of time to worry about that in the future. After all the backing we're receiving from our buyers we have all the funding we could ever want to complete this weapon." Voltaire smirked as he turned and strode away from the man who began to scream in pain as his transformation began.

_._._

Tala glowered in silence as he followed the group through the currently empty streets. After retracing their steps for the first few days they reloaded and stocked up on various items from Michael's place before making their way to the north side of the city. Following Tonya's plan to try and infiltrate the underground base. Warning all of them that it was a suicide mission and that if they were lucky they would make in the base with everyone. As for getting out—she let their imagination fill in the blanks. She'd even gone as far as to let anyone, except Brooklyn and Garland, to back out if they wished. Not surprising all decided to stay.

"Where are we?" Brooklyn asked as he looked around the empty building they just entered. "Hey wait, what are you doing?"

Tonya didn't acknowledge anyone as she slid the heavy door shut and slid a heavy steel bar across to lock it into place. She clicked a few more minor locks into place and even went as far as to jam an old steel bar between the door and the floor for added protection.

"Any reason you're locking us in?" Tala asked in annoyance as he folded his arms over his chest. His team didn't get what the sudden change in mood was towards Tonya. One minute he wanted to kill Garland for her and the next he's ice cold like he could care less.

"This building is secure. You heard how heavy this door is. Even with it cracked like it was when we first got here those things couldn't get in. They function on instinct alone, they aren't smart enough to figure out how to open the door and get in. If you don't believe me go take a look around and I promise you that you won't find anything here. We can rest here for awhile before diving into hell." She sighed as she wiped the sweat from her face. "There's showers and rooms down that hall. The warm water still works so feel free to use it. Packets of dry food and water will be down the same hall and in the second room to your left."

"How do you know this place hasn't been ransacked?" Kai asked as he turned to Rick who shrugged.

"Don't ask me. This is the first time I've seen this place. Hey Tonya, do you know who used to live here?" Rick asked as the girl glanced back and smiled.

"I did. This is where I stayed until I met you and Ian." She turned and waved over her shoulder as she left the boys behind. "Feel free to explore as much as you want."

The boys did as they were told. True to her word, there were no signs of the infected anywhere. For the most part the building was in decent shape. It wasn't extremely big and impressive from the outside, even before the outbreak. No holes had been punched in the walls and all the windows were barred over. As the boys explored they saw that it mainly looked like living quarters of some sort. There were fully running shower facilities, plenty of food and drink for all of them, semi clean beds and clothes, and not an infected person in sight.

"I wonder how long she was here before she ran into us." Rick said softly as he just looked around.

"I'd say about a few weeks. That's about the time she found me." Ian smiled as he remembered his first run in with the girl. "I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I was pretty bad off and I was cornered by a few of the horde. I would've either died or turned into one of them right there if she hadn't shown up."

"You guys really do owe your lives to her don't you?" Bryan asked as he sat down on one of the beds. "No wonder you're willing to risk it all for her."

"It's because she has a reason to keep fighting. More than anyone else here, even me. She has one thing driving her on. One thing that she has to do before she can give in. Just wait. I guarantee that the grim reaper himself couldn't take that girl before she completes what she has to do." Michael said as he folded his hands.

While the others all took off to relax, Tonya isolated herself in one of the back rooms. It had separate facilities away from prying eyes and she was able to be herself for awhile. She slowly stripped her clothes off, trying her best to ignore the pain her body was in, as she walked towards the bathroom. She just stood under the warm water as it stung all her still open wounds all over her body. After awhile she couldn't feel the pain anymore as she just stood under the water, watching the old blood just swirl down the drain.

'_Why waste your time on these fools…You should save yourself…You know how to get into the base…If it was just you, you could easily make it past those other mutations…After all you're not like them…Otherwise you'd be locked away like the rest of them…'_

"Shut up!" Tonya screamed as she hit her fist against the tile wall. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut the hell up!"

She sank to the floor as water continued to pour over her body. Tonya wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep her body from shaking. She could feel the fear creeping into her as she thought about what awaited them in the underground base. And what that voice had said. She took slow, deep, calming breaths as she focused back on where she was. With slow easy movements, she stood up and turned off the water. Grabbing the towel she'd hung over the rack, she wrapped it around her body and stepped out of the shower. She stood in front of the mirror and wiped the steam away. First thing she saw was the wound on her shoulder. It was an ugly purple and yellow color now. She knew her leg looked exactly the same.

'At this rate I'll be lucky if I make it another week or so. The madness is already starting to take hold of me, and the pain is getting worse each day. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold out. But I can't give up until I get the others out of here. Even if I can't pay that bastard back for what he did, I can at least save those that he didn't kill.' She thought to herself as she hung her head.

'_Yes, save them…I'll just kill them all the more slowly…'_ A deep voice said this time inside her head.

Tonya lifted her head to see a familiar face staring back at her with a smirk firmly plastered on it. Not knowing the difference between reality and the illusion she lashed out at the mirror with all her rage. The glass cracked under her fist as the figure just laughed in response, only driving her on further. She lashed out again and again, cutting her hands and arms in the process. It even got to where she was pulling the shattered pieces out of the frame just to smash them on the ground. She screamed out of hatred for the man as she heard his mocking laughter in her head. She looked around, trying to find the source of the laughter that was just taunting her. She turned to where the mirror once was and saw nothing left in the frame. Turning her gaze to the floor she saw the man reflected in the glass in bits and pieces as his laughter seemed to increase in volume. Tonya screamed even louder as she dove at the ground and picked up the pieces and began to fling them at the floor. The glass would shatter and nick her face and neck as some of the fragments ricocheted back at her. Finally all the glass was destroyed into tiny bits, but the laughter still rang out in her head.

"Just stop it! Go away! Leave me alone!" She screamed as the door slammed open. At the sound of such a loud bang she fell quiet, wondering who it was that barged in on her.

"Oh my god….what happened?" Spencer asked as he looked around.

Spencer had been exploring when he'd heard the glass shattering and all the screaming. He'd quickly rushed to see what the commotion was, only to see Tonya kneeling on the ground in nothing but a towel that barely covered her. But what horrified him the most was the state of the bathroom. Blood was splattered on the walls above the sink from when she'd bashed the mirror in, and some of it was even sliding down like water on a window sill. The rest of the room held splatter all over from her flinging her arms around in an attempt to destroy the glass. On the floor there were smeared hand prints and a small pool was forming around her now still hands that were pressed to the floor. It almost looked like someone had been murdered in the bathroom from all the smeared and splattered blood.

"Tonya? Are you ok?" Spencer asked as he slowly approached her. He didn't know what had set her off, so he didn't wish to spook her in case she was unstable.

"I-I'm fine. Just a nervous breakdown is all." She finally managed to say as she looked down at her arms.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Spencer said softly as he placed his hands on her shoulders. He could feel her shaking under his touch and wondered just exactly what was wrong.

After cleaning off the worst of the blood, Spencer went to fetch his kit while she changed. Tonya didn't have very much energy after her little episode and from the loss of blood. So she just pulled on her bra and underwear for the time being. When Spencer came back he quickly went to work on her wounds. As he worked, he noticed that she was very weak. Her eyes were distant, cloudy, and unseeing. Her body was limp and he was sure that it was an effort just to remain sitting right now. His eyes glanced at the bite on her shoulder and then to the one on her opposite leg. Suddenly everything began to make since.

"It's been about a week and a half since you were bitten. Those bites look even worse now. And they're starting to smell as well." Spencer sighed as he finished wrapping up her arms. "Tell me, was all that commotion you caused due to the madness?" He saw her eyes widen a bit and he knew what her answer would be.

"Yes. It's starting to get worse as the days pass." Tonya said weakly as he caught the meaning behind her words.

"So this isn't the first time it's happened?" He glanced up as he saw her shake her head.

"No. Just the worst by far. It started with voices. Telling me that I should kill myself, or kill you and the others, or just save myself and leave everyone else to die. Those I could ignore easily. But when I heard '**his**' voice I lost it." She growled as Spencer felt her body tense up.

"How do you feel now?" Spencer asked as he finished bandaging her up.

"Weak, but stable." Tonya pushed her still damp hair out of her face as she managed to look Spencer in the face. "Look, if the others ask that glass was already there and I tripped and fell in it ok?"

"Is there a reason I'm lying not only to your friends but mine?" Spencer asked as his eyes turned hard.

"If you tell them that the madness is starting to take over then they'll be more worried about me than the mission. And they'll need to focus for where we're going. Don't worry I'll tell Michael since I know he can keep his trap shut and act like nothing is wrong. Which is what I ask of you. I know you probably don't trust me much, especially after what you saw, but I'm telling you this is the best course of action. The best possible way of keeping everyone alive." She licked her lips as she waited on Spencer to say something.

"And how will we know we'll be going the right way down there? What if your madness causes you to steer us wrong?" Spencer quizzed as she laughed weakly.

"Simple. Everything is pretty much labeled down there. Maps are posted every so often in corridors so that those who used to work there wouldn't get lost. So even if I don't know where I'm going we'll have a map to follow." She breathed softly as she fought the weakness in her arms. Spencer remained silent as he wondered just exactly how she knew so much about the base. But he didn't voice his thought as he watched the weak girl just struggle to stay upright.

"I see. Very well then, I'll keep your secret for now. But if you start to pose a threat to my team or the mission—" He said menacingly as he stood.

"Then you can shoot me where I stand. Although I hope you all will allow me my simple wish before doing so." She grinned as Spencer returned it.

True to his word, Spencer never told anyone. Mainly because no one but him had heard what had happened so they had no reason to ask. He sent Michael to her later so that she could let him know what was going on and what her condition currently was. Michael never asked any questions and didn't make a scene about it either. He knew that when it came down to it that something would have to be done and that she was counting on him or Spencer to know how to act in case another episode happened while they were down inside the base.

That night sleep didn't come easy, for any of them. All wondered what exactly waited for them down in the base. All Tonya would say was that it would be worse than anything they'd faced so far. How that could be possible none of them knew. Except for Michael it seemed. But even he didn't quite know what to expect. Many times the soldiers voiced their thoughts about why she was withholding so much information from them. They even began to wonder if they could even trust her anymore.

"I'm telling you, she's hiding something big from us. She obviously knows more than she's letting on." Bryan stated as they all sat in the dark room. Moonlight crept in through the high barred up windows to provide some light.

"We should just make her tell us everything she knows before she goes insane." Tala quipped as he crossed one leg over the other as he lied down. Lying there with his eyes closed, he never saw the empty canteen flying towards him. "Ow! Who the hell threw that?" The angry red head yelled as he bolted up in his cot.

"How dare you….How dare you bad mouth her after she risked her life to save your sorry ass!" Ian screamed as he dove for Tala.

The young man managed to knock Tala to the ground and drew his arm back to punch him. He connected hard five times with Tala's face before Rick managed to pull him off. He dragged Ian kicking and screaming out of the room and down the hall with Kenny trailing them. Finally his hollering couldn't be heard anymore as the others all fell into silence. Tala slowly picked himself off the floor, wiping blood from his lip as he did so. Kai sighed as he looked at Tala who merely stared back.

"You know, you did have that coming to you." He said as the others looked at their captain in shock.

"Kai are you seriously taking their side over your own team?" Bryan asked as Spencer remained quiet. While he agreed with Kai, he didn't feel like putting up with an already agitated Tala and Bryan who was slowly getting there.

"No I'm stating the obvious. Tala is acting like a child." Kai shrugged as Bryan looked to Tala who was just staring at the ground. "Wasn't he the first one to go after those two when they left him and Tonya up for the slaughter?" The bluenette said as he motioned to the two in the corner who remained silent. "And now that she isn't willing to share some information he starts pouting and turns against her. Just like a kid turns against their parent when they don't get their way. Tell me I'm wrong."

When Tala didn't reply Kai knew that he'd struck a nerve. Bryan wanted to help his friend, but he didn't know how. In a way he knew that Kai was right. He'd just remained loyal to his friend and chose to ignore the logic before his eyes. The red head sunk down on the cot and held his cheek as he thought back to when Ian had been slugging him. Tears had been in his eyes as he'd gone after the soldier. Tears for his friend who was now suffering alone. Who was struggling to make it through each day. Who was the only one condemned to death, even though the rest of them may live. While she was acting selflessly for not only them, but the others they'd left behind, he'd been acting like a child. Just as Kai had said. He could understand now how Kai could be so calm about the situation while they'd been so worked up. So what if she held back a little information? She was still doing what she thought was right.

Without thinking he rose and began to seek out the missing two. It wasn't hard to locate them. He just followed the angry protests coming from down the hall. It wasn't long before he found them in the worn down locker room by the showers. In the back corner was Ian, sitting under the water. He'd finally fallen silent and was just sitting there now. Tala started to go towards him, but was stopped by Kenny who held out his arm.

"Leave him be. Give him a chance to cool down before saying anything." Kenny said softly as he stared over at his friend. Tala nodded as he just stared at the smaller man.

"Why is he so protective of her?" Tala asked, genuinely curious.

"He was on death's door when she found him. Or at least that's what he always tells us." Kenny sighed as he stepped up by Tala. "You know, he has over twenty bullet hole scars on his body." Tala's eyes widened as he looked from the two to the young man still sitting under the water. "From what Tonya told us, he'd been caught in the massacre by BIOVOLT. Instead of putting a bullet in his head to finish him off, the soldiers left him there to suffer alone until death. Since none of the bullets had pierced major veins or arteries, he'd been doomed to a slow and painful death. He couldn't move, could barely speak, and was barely conscious when she found him. But somehow she'd managed to make him survive."

"She made him survive?" Tala asked as the brunette chuckled.

"Yes. Believe or not, Ian couldn't stand Tonya at first. Because she forced him to live. Anytime he felt like giving up, she would pinch, poke, and flick him as hard as she could. It would reignite the pain a little. Which was just enough to force him out of his stupor long enough to chew her out for messing with him. And you know what she told him? "I won't let you give up. There are plenty of others lying on the ground cold and unmoving who would love to be in your position. So don't waste what life you still have feeling sorry for yourself and wishing for death. You're alive, so deal with it." For some reason or another he chose to fight after that. And once he made it through he couldn't believe he was alive. So he'll do anything for her. Because she gave him his life back, he decided to use it to protect her and her honor. Now you know." Kenny smiled softly as he glanced over at Ian.

"Hey how's he doing?" Rick asked as he came around the corner.

"Just been sitting under the shower this entire time. We had a chat while waiting for you two." Kenny grinned as Tala's eyes widened.

Walking beside Rick, using his arm to steady herself, was Tonya. He was surprised to see her arms and neck all bandaged up. She had on jeans shorts, previously her pants that she'd just chopped up, and just her bra as she stumbled in to the locker room. Eventually she let go of Rick as she made her way to Ian who was still sitting under the water. Tonya turned the water off and slowly knelt down, fighting the pain in her leg as she did so.

"Hey, time to get up. You've sat here long enough." She sighed as she lightly rapped him on his head.

"T-Tonya?" Ian slowly raised his head to see her smiling at him. "How can you be here? Still worrying about others when you're—"

"Remember what I told you that day?" She asked as Ian just stared. "I refuse to waste my life waiting for death. As long as I can still fight, as long as I'm still breathing, as long as I still have life left in my body, I know I'm still alive. And no matter how much I wish for anything otherwise, I'll just have to deal."

Ian nodded as the meaning of her words sunk in. Just like she wouldn't let him quit on life, she was refusing to give up too. Ian smiled softly as he looped an arm around the taller girl and helped her stand. But before they could leave, someone else had something to say.

"I'm sorry."

Both were surprised to see Tala drop down to one knee with his head hung in shame. Ian was still a little angry about earlier, but he looked to Tonya to see what she wanted to do. She knew about all Tala's animosity towards her lately. So it caught her off guard to see the proud soldier kneeling before her at her mercy. She just smiled and shook her head as Rick came over to take Tonya off of Ian's hands.

"As long as you keep **your** promise, I don't care if you're sorry or not. Now get up. You look like an idiot down there." Tala lifted his head at these words and saw a grin on her face. A sign that he was forgiven. "I suggest you all get some rest. Because tomorrow is when the fun begins."

* * *

Ah man this was a long one. The ideas came easily for this one. And I'm sure you all are tired of all this talking so don't worry next chapter will have some more zombie butt kicking action. But it may come at the cost of another...That's all I'm saying for now! Till next time please review everyone!


	8. Ch 8 Cat's Out of the Bag

Woo Hoo! Finally! Man college has been keeping me busy. But I have managed to finish another chapter! So please every enjoy. :)

~*Cat's Out of the Bag*~

After a good night's rest, they were finally ready to make the descent into hell. Turns out Tonya had led them to that building for more than just its sound structure and stocked up supplies. It connected directly with the underground lab. Spencer had snuck over early to her room to do some last minute checks on Tonya before allowing her to lead the charge. She seemed coherent and looked much better than when he'd found her yesterday. And even though it wouldn't do much good, he gave her a couple shots of antibiotics and something to dull the pain. Tonya thanked him as she began to strap on her gear as Spencer just eyed her. While he didn't feel safe letting her have all that firepower on her, knowing the madness could strike any minute, he knew that it would be pointless to argue. Once she was ready, she met them all in what was left of the main lobby.

"You all know the stakes. And I appreciate the support you're all giving me regardless. So why don't I skip the sappy speech and save us all some time?" She grinned as they all laughed in response.

Without another word they all followed her down the hallway, around a few corners, and to a set of stairs that led down deeper into the building. It was surprisingly calm as they walked down the two flights of stairs in what dim light was provided by the glow sticks they all had cracked open. For all they knew, this could be the last moment of peace they would get to enjoy. So instead of filling the silence with talk they just enjoyed it as they all slowly moved further down into the complex.

Eventually they hit the ground floor and all stood around a metal door. Nothing impressive about the door. Tall, dark, no dents, no bullet holes, in perfect condition. Yet all of them couldn't help but stare in awe at the door that separated them from either freedom…or death. Not wasting any time Tonya reached inside one of the holsters strapped to her leg and pulled out an I.D. card. Again they wondered how she had access to all this stuff, but didn't question it as she swiped the card. A series of clicks could be heard as the red light flashed green and the door slid open. She replaced the card, unlocked the safety on her gun, and stepped forward. As the last one filed in, the door slid shut and the locks clicked back into place.

"I thought you said this place ran on a separate power system?" Garland snipped as he clicked on a flashlight.

"It does. But all power was shut off when the bastards from BIOVOLT couldn't control their lab rats anymore. Some had gotten free and started killing off staff at a fast rate. So the only way to contain them was to shut down all power. It's a fail safe system. Glass panels fall from above, sealing off every passage way in and out. From there on it's like a maze to find your way to the control room to reboot everything." Tonya sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"And how exactly do you know all this?" Brooklyn asked as he stepped forward. "As a matter of fact, how is it that you seem to know so much about BIOVOLT? You knew it was BIOVOLT who exterminated the city, yet that information was never released to the public. Even our uniforms don't say who we work for. Just the symbol. Even then only those within the company are the only ones who know what it stands for. And better yet, you conveniently know where the location of the base is and don't even say anything to your friends?"

They all fell silent as they stared at Tonya's back. While all had been wondering the same thing, they hadn't wished to bother her with such trivialities. Especially in her state. She had enough on her mind without them pestering her. Despite how much their curiosity was bugging them. But since Brooklyn had voiced what they all wanted to know, the burning for answers arose within them. A smirk graced her lips as she turned to face them.

"Does it really matter? After all once we get the message out and you all hopefully make it out alive, I'll be out of your hair. Hell I may even let you live and just shoot myself before I completely turn. So I'll ask again, does it really matter?" A twisted grin appeared on her face, causing Brooklyn to step back.

Spencer tightened his grip on his gun as he looked at her. A soft touch on his shoulder caused him to turn away to see that it was Michael who'd placed a hand on him. He shook his head as he motioned back to Tonya. Spencer looked at her again and could tell that while she looked deranged, she was in full control. Her eyes were calm, her breathing was even, her posture relaxed. It was all an act to scare them into shape. Gradually, the soldier relaxed his hand as he allowed his gun to just rest in his hands.

"If there are no more questions, shall we boys?" She arched a brow as they followed her down the dark corridor.

All snapped their lights on as they walked in two lines side by side down the dark ways. First thing they noticed as they turned the first corner, it would be nearly impossible for them to navigate without Tonya around. Almost every wall was made of glass. It wasn't see through, but not entirely blocked out either. They could make out vague shapes on the other side of the panels. Desks, chairs, computers, stacks of papers. Sometimes organized, other times scattered everywhere. There were some blood smears on the glass, some pools on the ground that had dried out, but no bodies. All knew that it couldn't be a good sign.

"I think I liked it better when there were bodies everywhere." Rick shivered as he took his eyes away from the panels. Not paying attention to who was in front of him he ran right over Ian who managed to shove the much larger boy off him, shooting him an annoyed look.

"Why are we stopping?" Kai asked as he slowly made his way to the front.

"There." Tonya pointed to the bottom right corner of the panel currently blocking their path. "See that slight marking?"

Kai had to kneel to see what she was pointing at. There was a design etched into the clear border of the glass. Easy to miss if you didn't know what to look for. It was an arrow. It went up and then pointed to the left. He glanced at the other corner and saw another arrow, only it was on the other side and it was pointing straight and at a star. He stood back up and watched as Tonya pushed up on the glass and easily slid it over her head.

"All panels that can be moved will have arrows etched into the corners. The arrows tell you how where to go in order to reach the next movable panel. Only those that are sane and capable of forming coherent thoughts know to look for them. And even if one of those creatures saw it you have to apply just the right amount of pressure on these panels in order to get them to do as you wish. You have to lean and lift to move them. This is the second line of defense. Only those that are calm and in total control can fully operate this maze. When going in, you will follow the arrows on the bottom right corner. Same goes for coming out. Though we all know that won't be easy." She huffed as she stepped across the threshold.

The walk through the maze was just as quiet as when they'd first entered. Only it wasn't as peaceful. It was eerie, almost too quiet, as they trudged along the paths that lead them every which way. Of course what Brooklyn had said earlier was still on their minds. How did Tonya know so much about this place? Their questions only increased as they noticed that not once did they hit a dead end. Nor did she hesitate for longer than a few seconds whenever they came to a split. While they kept quiet now, wandering through the dark with what little light their flashlights provided, they all knew that they deserved some answers. And soon.

"Finally here." Tonya said after an hour of wandering around below. She opened up the last panel for them as the boys all poured into the control room.

"Tonya…" a light whisper called out to the brunette.

"Who's there?" She asked aloud as she looked around. Everyone else had gone into the other room to try and get the system up and running. She shook her head as she just sank down against the glass.

"Boo!" the voice said again, only louder this time. Tonya had to cover her mouth to keep from shouting as she heard the voice laugh at her. "Little jumpy aren't you?"

The girl glanced behind the panel to see a vague outline of a woman who was only a few years older than her. She leaned towards the clear border to get a better look at the woman who was just squatting there smiling at her. The lady's hair was a blonde ratted mess. Her skin was a light grayish color and slightly dirty. A few open sores could be seen on her arms, legs, and chest, but otherwise she was unharmed. The woman was barely covered up. Dressed in nothing but a loose hanging top that barely covered her breasts and bottoms that could almost pass as a thong. The woman giggled again as she placed her face closer to the clear border. Her green eyes were bright and wild as she stared at the girl.

"Lust?" Tonya asked softly as the woman nodded.

"So you do remember us." She said in her whispery voice again as she placed her hand against the glass.

"Kind of hard to forget those who you were locked up with." Tonya wheezed as she let her head sag against the panel.

"Oh what's this? The little star project doesn't feel well?" Lust mocked as she looked over the weak girl. "Two bites from those on the outside. Hmm….I wonder if you'll survive?" She taunted.

"Long enough to get that bastard back for what he did to us." She growled as Lust just tilted her head.

"Tell me, do your friends know the truth about you?" Lust asked softly as Tonya shook her head.

"They know enough." She shook her head weakly as she glanced back at Lust. "If you're alive, then the others are as well?"

"Yes. All of us separated thank god. But if you intend to release those panels…..I can't promise that any of us will be nice." The woman giggled sickly as Tonya turned and faced her fully.

"I'm warning you now. Touch one of them and I'll kill you where you stand." Tonya promised as Lust backed away, still in her crouch.

"You're no fun." The woman whined as Tonya struggled to her feet. Lust pushed herself up and stood only a couple inches taller than Tonya. "I warn you now. Keep them all together. I'll be nice, this time. But if one strays….he's mine." Lust giggled as she disappeared into the darkness.

Inside the control room, Tonya's presence wasn't missed. Everyone was busy checking everything out. Some panels were smashed, others completely torn apart. Screens were cracked and broken. Blood was smeared on the floor. Clearly a struggle had taken place here. But luck was with them. Kenny was able to hack the system and get the room up and running. Whatever wasn't torn apart or broken rebooted as light flooded the room. It took them all a couple of seconds to readjust to the light after being in the dark for so long. Garland and Kai worked with Michael and Kenny to clear up a channel to try and get a message out, while the others just looked at the computers.

"Bryan, what are you doing?" Rick asked as he looked over the soldier's shoulder.

"Trying to get some answers." Bryan responded without looking up.

"Man why can't you guys just leave things alone?" Ian snapped as he glared at Bryan.

"Don't tell me you aren't as curious as the rest of us?" Bryan snapped back as Ian just locked gazes with him. "She's hiding something major from us. I personally want to know who I've been walking around with all this time."

Ian was about to protest again, but this time Rick stopped him. As much as he hated to admit it he knew Bryan had a point. Up until now he hadn't cared about what Tonya had withheld from them. But the more they'd gotten into this, the more she'd dodged their questions. His curiosity had gotten the better of him and he had to know. The others were silent as Bryan searched through file after file until finally one came up with Tonya's information.

_Test Subject 121: Tonya Shadray_

_Body has accepted the other strains. Scheduled for new injection today. Shall be placed in isolation to observe results._

"Is that it?" Spencer asked as Bryan tried to hack the rest of the file.

"The rest is wiped. Probably when this place went under." Bryan sighed as he leaned back.

"Being nosy I see." Tonya called out as the small group turned and looked at her.

"Well since we've been caught, might as well ask. What exactly are you? And how do you know so much about BIOVOLT?" Bryan asked as he stared at her.

"Why do you care?" She asked as Garland turned around, annoyed with this all.

"There you go again, dodging questions." Garland snarled as he pointed a finger at her.

"Big words for a coward." Tala quipped as Garland turned his gaze on him.

"I may be a coward, but at least I'm honest." The soldier spat as he glanced back at Tonya. He was expecting her to fight back, but she just sighed as that twisted smile came back.

"Very well. Since I'm going to die anyways and you all don't have a choice but to help me now since I have the only key out, I'll tell you. I know so much because I was one of the rats that managed to escape from here." Her smirk only widened as she let her head tilt to one side.

All eyes widened in shock as they just stared at her. Michael was the only one who didn't seem surprised. He just remained silent as he watched everyone else's faces, wondering what they thought of her now. Tonya didn't really care what they thought. But she was curious as to what they would say next. Or rather, who would speak next.

"Why?" Kenny finally asked since no one else would speak.

"Why did I not tell you or why did this all happen?" Tonya countered as Bryan cleared his throat.

"Why….How, did this happen?" Ian managed to spit out as Tonya leaned against one of the broken panels.

"I, like the rest of the test subjects, was pulled off the streets. Just going about my business one day until I get attacked. Next thing I know I wake up in a cell dressed in a white shirt and pants with pin pricks on my arms. Weaker strains of the virus were injected into all of us. Some died, others formed slight mutations, while the rest of us unlucky people with no deformations were subjected to more testing. To keep us sharp, they trained us like soldiers. Treating us harshly when we failed, rewarding us when triumphed. Honestly, it was hell. Those of us that had accepted the virus into our bodies, slowly began to change. Each time we succeeded we were injected with a little more of the virus. It slowly warped our personalities, destroyed others completely, and changed our bodies. Those that could be trained still were to be used as soldiers. Those that weren't necessary were disposed of." Her voice grew soft as the boys all listened in silence.

"So where did that leave you?" Kai asked as he kept his eyes on her.

"I was scheduled to have a new strain injected into me. That's when I heard of a few of the others escaping and massacring the scientists here. They'd been driven mad from the virus and just killed anyone that they could. A few had even escaped into the city. So that's when the decision to release the virus was made. The base was shut down to keep the strong mutations from leaving here. Giving them the perfect reason to create new subjects, kill off those who weren't necessary, and just sit back and watch their creations in a natural environment." She shook her head as they all remained silent.

"You've been walking around with the disease in you for that long?" Tala asked softly as she glanced at him.

"Yup. At any rate, we can't worry about that now. The seven, or should I say six, know we're here." She sighed as they all looked at her.

"The six what?" Kai asked as all work came to a stop.

"The Deadly Seven. Six of the most vicious monsters ever created." Michael answered as all eyes turned to him.

"And you know this how?" Brooklyn asked as Michael tightened his grip on his gun.

"Because they tried to turn my son into one of them." The man growled as all fell quiet.

"See, Michael here had his son stolen from him out on the street. He and his son were to become test subjects as well. The two were separated and his son was thrown into my cell block. Poor kid never had a chance. Died as soon as the second strain was injected into him." Tonya said softly as Michael began to cry. "So when the massacre in the lab broke out he managed to slip away in the chaos. Barely making it out. But when they released the virus, it took her too."

"So that's how you two know each other." Rick finally said as he looked at the two of them with a whole new sense of respect.

"Wait, you said 'Deadly Seven'. Yet you corrected yourself and said six afterwards. So what's the deal with that?" Kenny asked, speaking for the first time since all this started.

"The Deadly Seven was BIOVOLT's latest project. To create super human creatures capable of causing mass destruction." Michael said, finding life within him once again.

"Only six were created correct?" Kai looked at Tonya who nodded. "What happened to the seventh?"

"Hey! Power's working!" Kenny called out as all attention turned towards him.

Spencer turned from the happy group towards Tonya. She looked like she was struggling to stay on her feet as she stumbled towards the other end of the room near an old set of elevator doors. She was sweating and breathing hard. Tala noticed it too. The two moved towards the girl to check on her as Kenny managed to get out a message and coordinates as to where they could pick them up. When he was done he looked at the others who all nodded in approval. But some things just weren't meant to last. Something above them short circuited, causing a chain reaction to occur. For some reason the doors to the elevator shot open. Already unstable, Tonya easily tumbled over and began to fall down. Spencer reached out to grab her, but was only able to snag the pouch on her leg and delay her fall. The band ripped and this time there was nothing that could be done. Acting on instinct alone Tala jumped down after her as the two fell into the darkness, leaving the others behind.

"No!" Spencer hollered as he desperately peered into the darkness, searching for the two. Listening to see if their bodies had hit the bottom yet.

"What happened?" Kai asked as the others all rushed to the shaft.

'What's this?'

Brooklyn thought to himself as he picked up the discarded pouch that had once belonged to Tonya. He opened it up to reveal the key card that they required to leave this underground place. A plan already began forming in his mind as he stood up.

"We can't just leave them behind. Someone has to go down there and look for them." All were surprised to hear Brooklyn say something like that as he joined them. He took his pack off and handed it to them as they wondered what his game was. "There's climbing gear in there you can use to get down that shaft and find them."

"And what will you be doing in return?" Bryan challenged as Brooklyn held the card up for them.

"I can go meet the helicopter at the rendezvous point and make sure all the others get out safely." He said as he gazed over all of them.

"I doubt it! He's just going to grab his buddy and leave us all for dead!" Ian snarled as he trained his gun on them.

"How about this? Part of you search for them, part of you come for us. That way even if you don't make it back in time your friends can send for more help. Sound fair?" Garland asked as he stepped up next to his friend. He even shrugged his pack off and tossed it over to them for them to have.

"Fine. But I'm going." Michael volunteered after a few minutes of thought.

"Me too." Rick said as he held his gun at the ready. "Fair warning now. We will shoot you if we think you're going to cross us in any way."

"Fair enough." Garland nodded as held his hands up.

"Kenny, you go too." Ian said as he gave the boy a small push.

"No! I want to help you guys look for Tonya." Kenny protested as Ian shook his head.

"Asides from those six wandering around down there, there are still the other mutations that we don't know about. You're not the best with a gun. You'll do us more good on the outside. Besides, you know Tonya would be telling you the same thing." Ian grinned as Kenny reluctantly nodded.

"We won't wait any longer than two hours." Brooklyn warned as Kai shrugged.

"Very well. Don't worry, we won't take too long." Kai smirked at the two soldiers as Bryan began rigging up the gear.

* * *

So exhausted. I had to stay up late just to finish this. But as I've said before I refuse to allow this story to die! So stay with me folks cause it's far from over! Review, or not, I'm about to crash. Till next time!

P.S. Don't forget to check out the homepage. I'm currently trying to get contests going. If people join in them it'll motive me more to get more stories done.


	9. Ch 9 First To Fall

I live! Man I started this chapter mid way through last semester and had such major writers block it was ridiculous! But I finally got it done and hopefully I won't be gone this long again. Anyways on to the story!

~*First To Fall*~

"Ow…"

Tala groaned as he tried to sit up. His whole body ached from landing on whatever had broken his fall. Why he'd thought diving down an elevator shaft had been a good idea he'd never know. He could feel a small bump forming on his head and felt something sticky on his face. Doing his best to stay calm, the soldier took a deep breath and slowly drew his legs in. Glad to see that no bones down there were broken, he started to move his arms next. One was fine, but the other was pinned under something. Being careful, he leaned over and felt whatever it was that had him arm pinned. His fingers felt something soft, but he wasn't sure what it was.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd quit poking my boob." Tonya mumbled as Tala quickly withdrew his hand.

"You ok?" Tala asked as he felt Tonya shift off his arm.

"My head's throbbing, my whole body aches, I want to puke, and you just fondled me. But otherwise I'm fine." She sighed as she reached around to her pack. She pulled out a couple of sticks and cracked them to create a glow. "Well, that explains why we didn't die from that fall."

Both of them looked down to see that they were sitting on a pile of bodies and various parts. Tala flinched slightly, but otherwise managed to contain himself. Tonya sighed as she slowly pushed herself up into a standing position. Her legs shook a bit as she fought off the wave of dizziness that over took her sight. Once she could see again she slowly made her way off the mound of bodies and down to the ground. Tala quickly followed, ready to catch the unstable girl in case she started to sway. The two walked towards a wall where Tonya held up the glow stick to a map.

"We fell to the third level. Thankfully we're not too far from a stair case." She noted as Tala heard her sigh.

"Are you ok? Do you need to rest?" He asked as Tonya shook her head.

"No I'm fine. But the others aren't." She explained as they began to move. "When they reactivated the control panel it shifted all the glass plates around upstairs. They'll have to take a longer route around to reach the entrance again."

"That's not too bad right?" Tala asked as she shook her head.

"Wrong. Only certain panels are open now. Creating a maze. The last fail safe of this place. Without a certain pass code they weren't able to reset the panels like when we came in. They have to weave around the panels, head down a flight of stairs, make their way across the second floor, and then back up another set of stairs." Tonya wheezed as they followed the wall.

"You didn't know the code either, did you?" Tala asked softly as he watched her nod. "I had a feeling it'd been too easy coming in."

"And it only gets worse. The second floor is easily three times bigger than the first floor. Each floor gets bigger and bigger the further down you go. We just lucked out that the shaft we'd fallen down was a dump shaft. That's why those bodies were in such good condition." Tonya said as came upon two doors.

Tala looked around until he found a loose pipe that he could wedge between the already cracked open doors. After some effort he was finally able to force them open enough to where they could squeeze through. The air was much clearer on the other side, holding only a slightly musty odor in it. The soldier gladly took in a deep breath as Tonya looked around to asses where they were. Once getting her bearing she motioned for him to follow her.

"So what exactly do we have to expect down here?" Tala asked as he held his rifle close.

"Remember how I told you about the six powerful mutants earlier? Well, they're still locked in this place. And unlike the other mutations you've seen, these one still hold a bit of humanity left within them. Although it's really just their darker instincts." Tonya gritted her teeth as she fought against the pain.

"Darker instincts?" Tala asked as he glanced at her.

"The instincts to fight, to feed, to kill, and to torture. They can still think, plan, strategize, and move however they wish. They are not mindless shells. That's why I highly doubt any of us will make it out alive." She said as they finally came upon the stair case. "No more talk now. We're heading into their territory now."

_._._

"Shit. There's no way we can reach them through here." Bryan said as he landed on two metal doors. It wasn't long before the others joined him on the platform.

"Damnit. They must've closed shut during that power spurt." Kai growled as he stomped on the doors.

"Well at least we can meet them halfway." Ian sighed as the other three looked at him. "They'll be trying to head back up right? So it only makes sense to start out on the second floor. For all we know they've already made it up this far and are about to head up another floor."

"Good point. Kai what do you think?" Spencer asked as Kai mulled it over.

"Ian's right. We can start our search here and hopefully eliminate some of their problems. Guns at the ready at all times. Also," Kai looked around at everyone, his gaze landing on Ian last. "We have to remember Tonya's condition. She wasn't looking to healthy before we lost the two. So we make sure she's sound of mind before doing anything."

"Well if we're done with this little chat can we get a move on?" Ian asked as he shimmied up the rope a ways and climbed into the slightly ajar doors.

The others followed silently as they each took their turn climbing up and squeezing through the doors. Each turned on their flashlights and held them close as they kept their trigger fingers ready. They came across a map right away and saw that this floor was by far one of the bigger ones. Filled with various rooms and doors that all interlinked together except for a couple. There would be no telling as to what path the other two may be taking. After double checking the map, the team decided to try for the shortest route to the stairs and hope for the best. It was completely silent as they made their way further inside the compound. Only their breathing and footsteps could be heard. The first thing they noticed about this floor, there was no glass panels. Everything was open, leaving them completely vulnerable to an attack if one should come. They came up to a door and carefully pried it open as one of the others kept their gun trained on the door.

"This room reeks." Bryan whispered as he covered his nose.

"It looks like it was used as a storage place." Ian ran his light over the glass cells one at a time.

"Ssh! Does anyone else hear that?" Kai whispered as they all fell silent and listened for a bit. A slow crunching sound could be heard, followed by a loud snap.

"Gluttony hungry." A loud voice whined as something smacked against the wall not too far in front of them.

All of them lowered their lights and ducked into separate cells as they listened to something rise. A dripping noise could be heard as the smell only seemed to get worse. Two sets of feet could be heard walking out of the one cell as the boys struggled to not look around the corner. A large lumbering pair, and a much softer pair struggling to keep up. They heard a yawn as the walking came to a stand still.

"Can you carry me? I don't want to walk." The voice was that of a little girl. She sounded weak and almost in pain. It took all they had not to just jump out and check on her.

"Hungry." The deeper voice said again.

"We'll see if Envy found anyone ok?" The girl said again as the footsteps picked up once more.

Kai leaned around the edge to see if he could make out the two in the dark to get a better grasp on their situation. But just as he did his arm brushed against a small piece of glass that had barely been hanging on to the wall. The glass fell and shattered softly. Everyone froze when they heard the footsteps stop. A loud sniffing sound could be heard as the heavier pair of feet began drawing closer towards them.

"Sloth, is someone there?" The deep voice drawled as all froze at the giggle from the little girl.

"Fresh meat Gluttony." The girl's innocent turned into a semi snarl and the boys knew their cover had been blown.

"Shit. Cover your eyes!" Bryan hollered as he pulled out a flash bomb and threw it into the corridor before ducking back inside.

A loud explosion rang out, followed by a flash of intense light. A cry of pain could be heard as something heavy fell to the ground. Ian and Kai jumped out into the corridor with guns at the ready. But before either one could react, the little girl they'd heard came charging at them. She threw herself into Ian hard and knocked him off his feet. As Kai turned to help out his friend, the bigger one got back to his feet and growled at them. The guy was as tall as he was wide. His mouth was dripping with blood and bits of flesh were trapped between his teeth as he snarled at them. He swung his huge fists at the boys and connected firmly with Kai in the ribs. He was slammed hard into the wall and a sickening snap could be heard as Kai struggled to regain his breath as his body became racked with pain. Spencer stepped up in front of his captain who was currently spitting out blood to clear up his airway. Fighting against the pain and dizziness he felt, Kai quickly grabbed his gun and began firing at the huge beast with Spencer. It swung for them again, pushing them away from their friends as it glanced over at Sloth who was doing her best to rip off Ian's face.

While Spencer and Kai dealt with the big guy, Bryan quickly rushed to Ian's aid. He was just barely holding off the little girl who was snarling and biting at him. Her eyes were mad with hunger as she snapped at Ian with her deformed mouth that resembled that of a sideways venus fly trap. Knowing that he couldn't get a good shot, Bryan charged the girl and swung his gun at her head. He connected hard and knocked her into the wall. Sloth's head snapped back hard and at first the boys thought that had done the trick. But both watched as she began slowly picking herself up as she forced her head back into its normal position. Blood dripped from her mouth as she screamed at them.

"Get up!" Bryan quickly yanked Ian off his back as the girl dug her nails into the wall and began climbing like a spider.

The girl hissed as Ian opened fire on her. She easily dodged all his fire as he and Bryan ducked into a cell. Kai hit Gluttony a few times in the head, but the bullets just wouldn't penetrate. That just made things all the much harder on them. Doing the best he could, Spencer drew the big guy's attention and fired off a couple more rounds. One managed to strike him in the eye, giving Spencer the opening he needed as he stuck his shoulder hard into Gluttony's gut and forced him inside an empty cell. Jumping away before the monster could get his hands on Spencer. Kai kept his eye on the big one, firing every so often to distract him as Spencer managed to force the other door open. Ian never took his eyes off the girl as she crawled along the ceiling, keeping her bloodthirsty eyes on them.

"Come one! It's now or never!" Spencer cried as he stood on the opposite side of the door, doing his best to keep the heavy thing open.

None of them needed telling twice. Ian fired off a few more rounds before darting forward for the door. Kai provided cover fire against the big guy until he saw Bryan make it by. He quickly caught up with Bryan as Ian made his way through. Bryan turned to cover Kai at the door in case the big one had lumbered after them. But that wasn't the one they should've been watching.

"Aaah!" Bryan screamed as the little girl latched her teeth around Bryan's neck.

She kept biting harder and harder as Bryan's blood began rushing out around the wound, staining his uniform quickly. Kai took careful aim and shot the girl a couple of times in the face to knock her off his comrade. Bryan sank to his knees as he held a hand weakly over the blood pumping out of his neck. Ian fired off rounds at the girl to keep her away from them as Kai went back in to try and drag his friend through. Bryan looked from Kai, to Spencer who was just staring at the gaping wound. The horror in his face said it all. Bryan could see no hope as he looked away from his friend, taking his hand off the gushing wound.

"We have to move now. Before that big one comes after us." Kai said as he drug Bryan along behind him. But when they reached the door, Bryan collapsed to his knees once more. "Come on you're right here!"

"Kai, find the others and make sure you get those bastards for what they've done here." Bryan grinned weakly as Kai wondered what he was talking about.

Before he could react Kai was thrown hard to the other side by Bryan. The injured man pulled out a couple of charges and then threw his pack hard at Spencer, causing him to let the door good as it started to slam shut. Ian jammed his gun in between the sliding door and the panel as Spencer got back to his feet and tried to wedge it open once again. He watched through the small crack as his friend clicked on the chargers as the girl rushed him with the lumbering one behind her.

"Bryan no!" Spencer hollered as the two converged upon him.

A loud explosion threw Ian and Spencer back hard, forcing the door shut for good. The three slowly picked themselves up and just stared at the door. The only evidence that anything had taken place there were the burn marks on the side near the door lock. Ian just sat there as Kai and Spencer fought back tears for their fallen friend. They now saw just how grave their situation was. And Kai realized that this had all been a setup. The two had worked together. They'd separated the group on purpose. Knowing that it would be easier to pick them off one by one rather than try and attack them all together. He'd wondered why the big one hadn't tried as hard to go in for the kill. It was because he was meant to keep them distracted long enough for the small one to go after them all. Bryan and Ian had been their intended targets all along. And Bryan had risked it all to save them.

"He knew he was going to die. The minute she bit him he knew he was condemned." Kai said softly as he remembered the look that had come over Bryan's face just before he'd sacrificed himself.

"If he hadn't died from the loss of blood, the infection would've gotten him. After seeing Tonya struggle on, the endless pain she was in, he must not have wanted to go out like that." Spencer added as he slowly picked himself up.

"Then let's not let his sacrifice be in vain." Ian sniffled as he picked up Bryan's pack and walked over to the others. "We can at least honor his last wish."

Without another word, the three moved on in silence. Mourning the loss of their friend as they pushed on to find those that were still of the living. At least, they hoped so….

_._._

"Did you feel that?" Tala asked as the ground slowly stopped shaking.

"Felt like someone let off an explosion. That means the others have already come across one of the Deadly Seven. I just hope they're ok." Tonya wheezed as they stopped to take a break.

"You said seven again. Yet you told us there's only six. What happened to the one?" Tala asked as Tonya pushed her hair behind her ear.

"You guys know that I was experimented on, as well as others. There were only a handful of us from the original batch that was still alive somehow. So the BIOVOLT scientists created seven different strains and tweaked them all a bit to where they now had seven different weapons in their hands. They would inject one strain into various subjects until it took root and pretty much melded with its host body. Then they'd repeat the process again and again until six of the new viruses had new hosts. I was to be the seventh, but that was the day when all hell broke loose." Tonya said as she looked at Tala.

"How many people died from these new strains?" Tala asked as Tonya leaned back on her hands.

"I don't know. What I do know is that with each new strain was stronger than the last. And depending on the host, it could either completely warp them or barely harm them. All I know is that no one before me had survived the seventh strain." She sighed as Tala just took this all in. "Well come on, let's get moving."

"Are you sure you're ok?" Tala stood up, looking over her weakened form. She'd paled a bit since starting this journey and anytime they rested he noticed that she would be real shaky.

"No rest for the wicked. Besides always best to keep moving down here. If we can find the others before too long we may fair a better chance of surviving. And with that the two pushed on once again, senses on high alert for whatever could be lurking in the darkness.

* * *

Ugh between school, homework, and the craziness of the holidays I had no time for my stories anymore. Not to mention the bitch of writer's block. But as I said I live and will start ch 10 soon. For now review and show me that you haven't abandoned me. And if you have oh well.


	10. Ch 10 Trusting is a Bitch

Finally! And it didn't take me quite as long this time either. Yay me :) Anyways I'll prattle at the end. So no more waiting, let's get on with the story!

~*Trusting is a Bitch*~

"Argh! Why the fuck won't it move?" Garland hollered as he kicked at the glass panel.

The man just fumed as the others all looked at the panel again. After heading back down the hall they'd immediately noticed that the path had changed. At first that hadn't bothered them much. They'd just followed the arrows around to the next panel, only getting turned around every so often. But once they'd hit this panel they'd hit a dead end. While it had the markings that they'd been following, it refused to move at all. Michael and Rick held their guns at the ready as they kept their eyes on the two soldiers who realized that their plan was a dud. Kenny on the other hand had been typing away furiously on his laptop and would glance up every so often to check their surroundings.

"I see." Kenny mumbled as he stood up and turned in a circle.

"What is it?" Brooklyn snapped, quickly silenced by a not so friendly look from Rick.

"When the layout changed, so did the rules. While we did manage to get this far we can't go any further on this floor. We have to go down and then come back up." Kenny stated as he pulled up a digital outline on his computer to show everyone else. "See, we're near these stairs. We have to go down, head through this area here, and then back up. That should lead up back to the path that we came in to begin with and back to the door."

"So it would seem this is the final defense of this place. These guys sure were paranoid." Rick said as he rolled his neck to loosen it up.

"Well let's not waste any more time. We have to meet the chopper at the rendezvous point soon." Michael readjusted his gun and led them back and down another corridor to the stairs.

They snapped their lights on and slowly formed a single file line with Michael leading the charge, Kenny behind him, then Rick, and then the other two. Rick and Michael weren't worried about the soldiers trying to run out on them for now. Tonya's warning rang loud and clear in their head about how some of the worse mutations lived within this building. And last thing on Garland and Brooklyn's mind was to take off and run the risk of running into something on their own. Strength in numbers after all.

It was eerily quiet as they slowly made their way around. Trying to make as little noise as possible. This floor reeked worse than anything they'd ever smelt. Since it'd been sealed up for so long the stench had never quite aired out. It just melded together to create something much worse. It made it hard to breathe since every time someone drew in a breath they wanted to vomit. Eventually Brooklyn couldn't take it and had to set his weapon and light down to cover his face. As he was pulling out a scarf to cover his nose, he felt something press up against his neck. The soldier froze as a raspy voice spoke to him

"Scream and you die where you stand." It was that of a man. Brooklyn glanced back to see two pale eyes reflecting off the dim light of his flashlight.

"Who are you?" Brooklyn asked as the man nudged him a bit to make him walk.

"They call me Envy." The soldier could hear the smirk in his voice as they continued following the others at a slow pace.

"What do you want?" Brooklyn hissed as he heard the man laugh.

"How do you know I want anything?" Envy challenged as the two still managed not to draw any attention towards them.

"The fact that I'm alive should be proof of that." Brooklyn countered as his military negotiating skills kicked in.

"Good man. Very observant. Since you've played along so well I'll tell you what I want." Envy snickered as Brooklyn nodded his head in compliance.

After a few minutes Envy finally disappeared into the shadows to allow Brooklyn to make up his own mind. The soldier quickly caught up to his captain who wondered what caused his sudden change of mood. Garland watched as Brooklyn pulled something off the side of his pack without breaking his stride. He flicked a lighter open, light the fuse, threw whatever it was in front of Michael, grabbed Kenny, and dove to the ground with the small boy, latching on to Garland and dragging him down at the last minute. A loud explosion rang out as a bright light filled the room. Immediately screams of pain could be heard from Michael and Rick as the light blinded them. Another grunt of pain could be heard as the other three picked themselves up off the ground to see what had happened. Rick was standing alone trying to squint and see where Michael had gone. A choking sound could be heard as Rick's sight finally came back.

In the dying rays of light stood a man that was easily as tall as Rick and just as burly. Open gashes could be seen all over his body as the skin just seemed to be pulled back, revealing muscle, tendons, ligaments, and sometimes bone. Blood was constantly leaking from these open wounds. The man's skin was a dark grey and it almost seemed like he had bruises in places. He grinned, revealing yellow teeth as he flexed his outstretched arm. A squeezing sound, followed by a low snap, could be heard. They all glanced over to see Michael's limp body. He was being held up by his now crushed neck, with parts of his vertebrae sticking out of the skin.

"Michael!" Rick hollered, even though it was too late.

"Don't worry. You'll be joining him soon enough!" Envy cackled as he dove for Rick next.

"Come on we have to get the hell out now!" Brooklyn hollered as he drug Kenny to his feet with Garland scrambling after them.

Gunfire could be heard as the three made a break for the closest door in front of them. Brooklyn had to keep a firm grip on Kenny who wanted to run back and help his dying friends. Garland still wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he wasn't about to stop and ask as he followed his lieutenant. Eventually they came to a split and had to stop to look at the map on Kenny's computer to make sure that they wouldn't end up taking the wrong path. Brooklyn finally released the scared man as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Which way do we go?" Brooklyn asked as Kenny just stood there, shaking and crying over what he'd seen. "Hey! Answer me!"

"Brooklyn what's this all about?" Garland asked as his friend turned his gaze from the shaken man to his captain.

"I…I had no choice. That thing snuck up on me. He made me a deal. If I could distract the first two for him to take, then he'd let us go free. I did what I had to." Brooklyn said as Garland merely nodded.

"You left them up for the slaughter. You're the reason they're dead. You bastard killed them!" Kenny hollered as he swung at Brooklyn. Garland easily caught his fist.

"He did what he had to. Now unless you wish to end up like your friends I suggest you tell us the way out now. Or I'll shoot you where you stand." Garland threatened as he pointed his gun at Kenny. The weaker man had no choice but to comply if he wished to live.

"Even if Tonya doesn't kill you, I hope you two rot in hell." Kenny growled as he knelt down and took off his pack.

Reluctantly Kenny opened his computer and double checked the map. He motioned them towards the left as he slowly followed them. Garland could see nothing but hatred in his eyes as the captain made him walk in the middle as Brooklyn to the point. Sure enough, once they made it down the long winding hall they came upon a set of stairs. As they climbed the stairs in silence, Kenny wondered just how much longer he would be allowed to live before he was sacrificed to save their sorry asses or killed to eliminate the only witness. Either way, he knew his time was limited.

_._._

"Did you feel that?" Tala asked as they came to a stop.

"The small tremor?" Tonya looked at Tala who nodded as they just stood there, wondering if another one would happen. "Someone may have set off explosives."

"I just hope everyone is ok." Tala sighed as he turned to look at Tonya. He noticed that she was stiff as a bored as she continued to stare forward. "You ok?"

"Tala. Duck."

Without hesitation Tala dropped to the floor right as Tonya released a knife from her hand. Above him he heard the knife strike something. A dripping noise could be heard near his face as he quickly rolled away from whatever had been near him. He quickly trained his light and gun on whatever it was, only to find a woman. One that wasn't in good condition. The knife was sticking out of her chest, just a few inches from where her heart was.

"Ouch. That hurts." The woman complained as she pulled the knife out and easily flipped it back to Tonya.

"If I'd known it was you Lust I wouldn't have thrown it. Sorry." Tonya said as she wiped the blade off and put it away.

"Do you know her Tonya?" Tala asked as he eyed the woman cautiously. He wondered if the madness had finally gotten to her and was making her so calm when one of the more powerful mutations stood before them.

"You could say that soldier. More importantly how did you even know I was here?" Lust asked as she narrowed her eyes at the younger girl.

"I heard you." Tonya shrugged as she just looked from the half dead corpse to Tala. "We were locked up together. Lust here was the fifth mutation. So why didn't you make good on your threat earlier?"

"Wait, you two spoke earlier?" Poor Tala was struggling just to keep up.

"Just before you two fell down here actually. Asides from Sloth, who is now dead, I'm the smallest so I can go anywhere I wish. I was originally confined to just the top area and part of down here. But since you released the panels and let all the others free, well things have gotten pretty damn ugly." Lust smirked as Tala fought hard to not shake. "As for why I haven't made good on my threat, it's because three of your people have already been killed."

"Three?" Both Tala and Tonya said together as their minds began to whir. They wondered just which of their friends had been killed.

"Well there was an explosion earlier. Not sure which one went up in smoke, but I found Sloth and Gluttony lying in pieces. And there was a torn soldier uniform. As for the other two, they were your comrades Tonya dear. Envy got them. A soldier with orange hair left them up for slaughter." Lust said softly, showing that she still held on to some of her humanity.

There was silence as the two processed this information. Tala wondered which of his friends was gone, and had he died alone? Was he in pain? Did he have no other choice? What had been his final thoughts? Had he been scared? Tala had to sit down in order to fully take it all in. Tonya remained frozen to the spot. Two were dead. Because of a soldier with orange hair. She felt her anger swell inside of her as she knew immediately who was to blame for this. A snarl erupted from within Tonya as she turned and slammed her fist into the wall. Lust whistled as she looked at the dent she'd left in the metal wall.

"I swear I'll tear those two fuckers apart with my own hands!" Tonya hollered as pure hatred flashed in her eyes.

"Tell me sweety? Are you feeling dizzy? Sick? Weak perhaps?" Lust asked as Tonya turned her eyes on to her.

"No why?" Tonya replied as Lust just grinned mischievously and shrugged her shoulders.

"If you live another few hours I'll tell you." The woman promised as Tonya turned her gaze from Lust to Tala.

"Come on, we have to move now. There are still others down here that we can try to save. Let's not let the numbers grow any higher." Tonya promised herself as she began to move.

"Right." Tala said weakly as he followed her lead. He could morn for the dead later. Right now he had to focus on the living.

"Lust, how many are left?" Tonya asked as she glanced over to the woman who now walked beside her.

"Asides from myself, there's Envy, Greed, and Wrath. There are three from that last group still wandering around down here. And those cowards who sacrificed your men." She counted off on her fingers as Tonya nodded.

"Do you know where the group of three is at?" The brunette asked as they came upon a door.

"Not too far from you actually. If you'd like I could locate them for you and lead them towards test room B. That's the closest room to your position and from the other three." Lust offered as Tonya nodded.

"Do it." Tonya commanded as Lust merely nodded. "Hang on though."

Both Lust and Tala wondered what she was doing as she drew one of her knives and walked over to Tala. She motioned for his jacket as he slid out of it and handed it to her. The two watched as she hacked away at it, tearing it to shreds before tossing it to Lust. The corpse admired her work as Tala understood what Tonya had been doing. The jacket was going to act as bait to lure the guys towards them. But he still couldn't get why the woman had suddenly decided to help them.

"Why are you helping us? Shouldn't you be trying to rip us to pieces?" Tala asked as both females looked at him.

"If I was one of the earlier four then yes I would. But with each mutation a stronger strain of this virus is created. It makes us a little smarter, a little stronger, and allows us to resist our urges long enough to see the bigger picture. While I would love nothing more than to sink my teeth into your soft flesh, I have a bigger goal in mind. After seeing those pathetic cowards sacrifice others to save their hides, it reminded me that there's still one thing I want to do before I give into my urges. And in order to accomplish it I have to help you. Since the others are perfectly happy with what has happened." Lust snarled as she clenched her hand into a fist.

"Help us get out, and I may let you tear into the sorry bastard before me." Tonya offered as that sick smile returned to Lust's face.

"Deal." Lust cackled before jumping up and into an air duct, disappearing from sight.

The two walked on in silence for awhile as Tala tried to wrap his mind around this new alliance that had formed. He'd been expecting to find nothing but horror down here and yet they were making deals with the very creatures Tonya had warned them about. True, they'd already lost three people. Possibly more who knew? But what was really sticking in Tala's mind was what Lust had asked Tonya. And then saying she'd only tell if the girl lived another few hours? His thoughts were in a whir as he remembered how she'd left a pretty deep dent within the metal when she'd lost her temper. She also wasn't shaking or struggling to move anymore. She wasn't acting as if she was in pain, her breathing was normal, she didn't even look as pale as she had before. In a way she looked much the same as the first time Tala had met her. Except for the huge purple bite marks that were currently covered up by nothing but gauze. Tonya had her determination back, there was a fire in her eyes again, and in a way she was much fiercer than before. He wondered exactly just how long he'd be safe before his closest ally turned into his worst enemy.

_._._

The guys hadn't made much progress since their scrape with death. Too much weighed on their minds as they wandered around slowly trying to block it all out. The last look on Bryan's face when he knew he was going to die, the huge explosion that kept ringing in their heads and playing behind their closed eyes, the stench of burnt flesh that just seemed to hang in their noses. Up above Lust just watched them go through the motion of walking, looking around to check things while not really seeing. She rolled her eyes as she quickly moved ahead of them and rechecked the path she'd set up again. Making sure that the others hadn't come looking for another meal already.

"Well, time to get the ball rolling." Lust grunted as she dropped in.

Ahead of them the guys could hear something moving around. Immediately they fell into sneak mode, with Kai taking the front while the other two kept an eye out on their sides. They heard another bump and Ian quickly trained his light on whatever it was. The boys froze as the watched Lust slowly turn and stand as a sadistic smile crossed her face. She tilted her head to one side as blood dripped down out of her mouth. And in her hand was a jacket. One very similar to that of Kai's and Spencer's and it was torn to shreds.

"No…" Kai wheezed as the woman began to cackle at them as she threw the jacket aside.

Without hesitation Ian took aim and fired. The woman easily dodged and took off from them. The little man didn't hesitate in charging after the woman. Once seeing Ian pull away from them the two snapped out of their daze and began to chase after her as well. Common sense told them to stop, hang back, and proceed with caution. But as they'd seen earlier caution doesn't always work. Either way they could die, so why not be a little reckless while they were at it? They tracked the woman through at least three rooms as she knocked over furniture in an attempt to try and slow them down. The boys were persistent though in their chase and refused to let anything stop them. Eventually they watched her dart into a room as a door shut behind her. At Kai's signal the three slowed down and slowly advanced forward. They could hear the soft giggle of the woman as they drew closer and closer to the door. Kai took a deep breath before darting through the door, dropping to his knees as he held his gun at the ready before him. Ian was right behind him as Spencer kept his hand on a grenade.

"Relax those trigger fingers boys. No one here's gonna kill you." At the sound of a familiar voice, Ian froze up as he turned to his left.

Standing there with a grin on her face was Tonya. With Tala right beside her. Ian felt his grip go slack as his gun clattered to the floor as he fell to his knees. And he wasn't the only one who felt this way. Kai and Spencer were just as shocked to see Tala standing there with only minor wounds. Their friends were alive and well. Against all odds.

"I don't know, I might change my mind." Another female voice drew them out of their daze as they saw the woman from before standing there with a smirk on her face.

"Before anyone gets trigger happy, she's on our side." Tonya called out as she watched Kai and Spencer tense up. "If she'd wanted to she would've killed you instead of leading us here so just relax."

"So you've made a new friend. What makes you think we can trust her?" Spencer spat as he narrowed his eyes at Lust.

"We can't. Just like she can't trust us. But we have a deal and until she gives me reason to doubt her I intend to honor it." Tonya stated as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, yeah no one trusts anyone. Point stands that none of you will make out alive unless I help you." Lust snapped as she glared at the younger men. "I can guarantee you that those cowardly soldiers sold you all out as well. So there'll be a trap waiting for you near the route you need to take to get out of here. I have better sense, better reflexes, and more hatred for anyone down here as well as those that left us. If I'd wanted you all dead, as Tonya pointed out, I would've done it before now."

Kai wondered just exactly what was going through Tonya's mind. Siding with the enemy? Putting themselves at her mercy when she could be the one walking them into a trap? Things weren't adding up. He stared at the girl and noticed something that hadn't occurred to him before. Her bite marks. They weren't oozing anymore. They were still a deep blue and black color, but that was it. There was no stench as well. She should smell like fresh rotting flesh, yet there was nothing but the usual stench in the air. She wasn't weak anymore as well. Tonya was standing on her own, completely in control, no wheezing, no stumbling, nothing like she was before. Kai glanced from her towards Tala who just nodded. So he'd noticed it as well. And Kai didn't have to turn around to know that Spencer had noticed these changes as well. He'd had to document every stage of her digression since when she'd actually been bitten. While none of them would say it out loud, all wondered just what exactly was going on and whether their former ally could be trusted anymore.

* * *

And the plot thickens! Can Tonya be trusted? Or will she turn on them after bringing the guys all this way? Only I know hehe. But seriously I'm happy with how this came out. The betrayal, the lies, and especially the cowardice of the other two. That's all I have to say for now. Ch 11 may take awhile so patience is appreciated everyone. Anyways share your thoughts please.


	11. Ch 11 Fighting in Vain

Chaos: I am not dead! And I've finally come out of hiatus on this story woo hoo! I think it has something to do with all the horror movies around this time and I was finally able to get past the block I've had for so long on this damn chapter. Anyways enough ranting let's get on with the story!

~*Fighting in Vain*~

"Are we clear on the plan?" Tonya asked as she looked around at the boys.

Of course Ian was ready to go. Whether she'd changed or not, he would still follow her to his death if it called for that. But the other three were more hesitant. Lust rolled her eyes as she glanced at Tonya who merely nodded. She could see the flicker of doubt in their eyes. The hint of fear that she would turn on them at any given moment. She didn't blame them. She could feel something going on inside her. And she knew that they could see the differences as well. But they didn't have time to sit here and have a tea party and swap stories. They had to get out of there.

"If you boys don't pull it together I'll save you the trouble and put a bullet in your head myself." Tonya snapped, getting their full attention. "I get it. I'm not half dead anymore and that bugs the shit out of you. But I suggest we use it to our advantage. Now you have someone who can help and not hinder you. The same conditions apply if you think I'm going to turn on you. But until then snap out of it otherwise this will all be for nothing!" Tonya hollered as she looked at each of them in turn.

"Damn, glad I'm on your side." Lust giggled as the guys all nodded.

After snapping them into shape, they all headed out. Once again Tonya was back in commander mode as she took the front. Considering that her senses were much sharper now she could react that much better to a sneak attack that may come. Lust had taken to the air ducts with a walkie to scout ahead for them. For the most part it was silent the entire way there. Tonya was taking them on a roundabout route, hoping to catch the mutations off guard. The walk was silent as they all weaved around the wreckage in the rooms as they made their way towards the stairwell that would lead to the surface world. Only stopping to check maps and make sure they were on the right track. After walking for a little over an hour, they rested in one of the wrecked lab rooms.

Tonya looked around the room as a soft expression crossed her face. The girl walked down the small hall in the room as she looked into the destroyed exam rooms. She stopped in front of one of them and placed her hand on what was left of the glass as a memory played out before her. One of her screaming in pain, trying to fight even though it was futile, and having to hear the sick laughter of the scientists around her.

"You ok boss?" Ian asked softly as she snapped out of her memories. She was surprised to see anyone this close to her. But Ian had always been loyal. And apparently her recent change didn't bother him.

"I'm fine. Just revisiting the past." Tonya sighed as she looked back at the room. "This was one of the rooms where they would experiment on me."

"I see." Ian said as he looked at the destruction in there.

"It seems like that was lifetimes ago." She whispered as more memories flashed inside her mind.

The two stood in silence for a bit as Tonya wrapped her arms around herself. The time of reflection didn't last long though as a small noise could be heard in the wall. Before Ian knew it, Tonya had shoved him hard to the ground as the wall seemed to explode. Ian brushed the debris off his face and looked up to see Tonya in the grips of one of the mutations. Envy snickered as Ian trained his gun upon the creature. Envy twisted Tonya around and hid behind her as the smaller boy cursed. He couldn't shoot the creature without hitting his leader. Ian vaguely wondered why no one else was coming to their aid when they clearly heard the explosion as well. He soon found out why. Ian turned to see the others all at the mercy of yet another mutation. This one was long, gangly, as easily broke eight feet. He was bald, had pitch black eyes that were sunken in, and the skin was stretched tight across his small frame. It was Greed. And he was holding Kai hostage, preventing his men from doing anything.

"I suggest you all come with us now." Greed said softly as he turned, Kai still in his grip, and led the way out of there.

It was a slow and painful walk. Knowing that the free ones could do nothing to help out their allies. Tala and Spencer wondered what had happened to Lust. Why hadn't she come back and reported in to them? Had she been caught like them? Had she been killed? But they didn't have to wonder for long. They were eventually led into a very large circular room. The city smelt nothing like this room. It was gut wrenching. All but Tonya had to find an area to lean over and expel their guts as the stench threatened to overtake them. Bodies were piled along the side of the walls, torn limb from limb. A few were nothing but bone. And among the dead with gaping holes in their chests were Michael and Rick. Both of their faces frozen in horror for the rest of eternity. Tonya forced herself to look away as Envy chuckled.

"They were particularly enjoyable. Never had my prey put up such a fight." Envy whispered to Tonya as she struggled to keep her cool.

"Now, now Envy there's no need to tease our guest. Especially since she's an old friend." A low voice chuckled as a pair of yellow eyes flashed from the shadows. "Hello Tonya."

Standing before her was a boy, about her age and barely mutated as well. Bits of his skin were barely missing in certain areas as he smirked at them. Revealing sharp teeth within his mouth. He licked his lips with an incredibly long grey tongue as he watched the others. And standing behind him with her head low as a sick giggle escaped her lips was Lust. The soldiers glared at the mutation before turning to Tonya. She'd said they could trust her. That she wouldn't betray them. Yet they'd walked right into a trap.

"Humans are so easily manipulated." Lust smirked as she sauntered past Wrath.

"You bitch!" Kai hollered as he struggled against Greed's grip.

"No need for such vulgar language. After all you're the fools who trusted her." Wrath shrugged as the guys wondered why Tonya wasn't as pissed as them. "Oh and what's this? It would seem the favorite lab rat has been bitten by the lower species. I wonder just how much longer you have? Unless your body has already counteracted the virus? Then you'd be on your way to becoming one of us."

"D-Don't count on it…."

Tonya's words died in her throat as her eyes rolled back in her head before her body began to spasm. Everyone watched as the girl just shook in Envy's grip before going limp as her head flopped forward. Envy shook the girl a bit as she just hung there. The infection had finally gotten her. She wasn't breathing, her heart beat was fading, and the girl was unresponsive.

"Damn, and here I thought she was going to make it." Wrath sighed as Envy threw the lifeless body into the pile. "Well, since there is only three of you we'll each have one. Envy you can finish off the two you started on earlier."

"Gladly." He grunted as he turned to head towards the two lifeless corpses he'd brought back with him.

"Oh Envy, you should really make sure your prey is dead before throwing it away." A cool voice said before a single shot rang out.

Envy hollered in pain as three more shots followed. The huge man fell to the ground dead as blood leaked out of the bullet holes in his head. Tonya smirked in the general direction of Envy as Wrath watched in disinterest. Greed held Kai close in case the others decided to attack, but he too was screaming in pain as he dropped Kai and began swatting at something. Lust had snuck up behind him and had driven a knife into his neck. Tala and Spencer easily took him down, leaving only Wrath left.

"It would seem you've formed a little treaty with them Lust. A shame. Now I'll have to kill you all!" Wrath hollered as he darted towards the woman first.

Wrath quickly caught her in his grip as Lust struggled against it. The boy smirked before his mouth opened wide, revealing another row of teeth as he bit down on the woman hard. She let out a scream before driving one of her long nails into his eye. Causing him to release her as she tackled him to the ground. Kai and the others opened fire on Wrath. Their bullets piercing his back as the boy let Lust go and turned on them. He was inhumanly quick as he knocked each soldier aside as if they were nothing. Slamming each of them into a wall with a simple extension of his arm. Tonya took aim and launched a knife as it stuck into his neck as the tearing of flesh could be heard. Wrath chuckled as he pulled the blade out, the wound healing itself slowly before her eyes as she couldn't believe how strong the virus had made him. He quickly yanked Tonya up by her neck and began to squeeze, intending to kill the girl there. An earsplitting screech could be heard as Lust launched herself at Wrath and began clawing at his face as she held on to him with her legs. Tonya sunk to the ground, gasping for air as she spotted a familiar pack. Wrath knocked Lust off once more as Tonya kicked the pack in her direction as the mutation turned towards her next as she trained her gun on him.

"What are you doing? We're no match for him!" Tala said as Tonya ignored him.

"Go now! While he's distracted!" Tonya hollered as she kept up her barrage.

"We can't leave you!" Kai hollered as he grabbed her arm. She shook him off easily as she turned to face them.

"I'm damned and so is Lust! You are all still alive and healthy! Go after the others and stop them before they sacrifice anyone else." Tonya begged with her eyes as Kai reluctantly nodded and turned away.

"None of you are leaving." Wrath said softly as he appeared behind Tala.

He reached down to bite the boy and was knocked out of the way. The ripping of flesh could be heard as blood lightly splattered Tala's face. Tonya stood there with the jaws of Wrath locked around her neck. Her blood squirting out between his teeth as she waved over her shoulder at them. The kind of wave a friend would give as they were walking away. The four slowly made their way out of there as Tonya pulled the trigger, launching bullet after bullet into the skull of Wrath. Only angering him as he swatted the girl away. He turned to chase after the soldiers, but was surprised to see Lust standing near the door with a very familiar looking bag. The one Michael had been wearing. The one Tonya had kicked her way. It was empty as she let it fall to the ground, something in her hand. The woman grinned as she clicked a button, setting off charges that she'd placed around the door. Sealing them in for good. On the other side the other three stopped upon hearing the explosion. Knowing that there was no hope for them now. Steeling themselves they quickly hurried back up through the compound to carry out Tonya's last request.

It took a good few minutes to navigate their way back up, but it wasn't long before they made it to the outside world. Struggling to head to the rendezvous point that they'd called out earlier. Hoping that there was still a chance to stop the others and set things right. After running for about ten minutes they spotted the waiting helicopter as they ran full sprint with their guns drawn.

"Stop right there." A voice called out as the small group froze. "Lower your weapons and get on your knees."

They looked around to see that the BEGA team was fully reunited and had them surrounded. Doing as they were told they sunk down and put their hands above their head as two males moved in. Securing their arms as Brooklyn and Garland sauntered forward with a captive Kenny.

"Only you four?" Garland asked in a bored tone as they glared up at him. "Well at least the others served their purpose. And you're the only survivors left here correct?"

"Yes. Just the small group that we originally started out with." Kai confirmed as he looked to Kenny who knew what he was doing. Keeping his mouth shut as well.

"Very well then. Tie them up and contact headquarters. They can send another team in to demolish this place. We have some traitors we need to take care of." Brooklyn grinned as he hopped in the helicopter.

"Starting up systems." MingMing said as she fired up the helicopter as Mystel and Crusher ushered them on board.

Once again they were flying over the city as the three looked down at the building that now acted as a burial ground for their friends. For the girl who'd risked it all to try and get help to only die along the way with no fear in the end. Kai didn't know how, but he promised that he would fulfill her request or die trying as the city was soon out of sight as they made their way back to the BIOVOLT headquarters. Wondering what new horrors awaited them there now that they knew the truth.

_._._

*Cough* "Damn….how am I still alive?" Tonya wheezed as she looked around her.

The building was destroyed. Lights were flickering above her as they sent off sparks every so often. The girl could feel something on her legs as she turned to see them buried under a pile of rubble. She could wiggle the one, but when she tried to move the other she got no response. Meaning that majority of the bones were broken in that one. Tonya laid her head against the cool floor as she realized she'd survived only to die of starvation. Or turn into a zombie. Whichever came first. She cursed her fate as she laid there. To come so far only to be stopped short of the actual goal. She grinned at the irony of it all as she just closed her eyes and wished for sleep.

"Hey, you dead?" a familiar voice called out as Tonya looked up.

"So you made it too?" Tonya asked as Lust looked at the condition of the girl and began digging her out.

"Jumped up into that ventilation shaft last second. Got a few shards of metal in me but I'll be fine. How about you?" Lust grunted as she managed to get the last bit of rock off her. "Oh…"

"That bad?" The brunette asked as she pulled herself forward and flipped over. The one leg had bone jutting out as blood dripped free. "Great. I may just bleed to death yet."

"Nope. Not if you've survived this long. I know how to repair you for good. But you may not like it." Lust warned as she squatted down. Tonya climbed on, wincing from the pain in her leg as the woman stood.

Lust headed towards another door in the back. It'd been cleared from all the bodies during the explosion and she'd managed to knock it open in case the girl had survived. They remained silent as Lust took them down a couple halls and finally towards the only open room there. The woman hobbled inside and set the girl down as Tonya looked around the area. It was an old lab. Probably the most intact one she'd seen. Lust hummed to herself as she moved things around, dug in drawers, opened the cabinets, looking for something. Tonya could feel herself growing weaker by the minute as more blood pumped out of her system from her two gaping wounds.

"Ah, found it." She giggled as she turned and held up a syringe filled with a dark purple substance. "Strain 7. Supposedly the ultimate strain. The one dubbed 'Pride'."

"That thing survived?" Tonya asked as Lust walked towards her with it.

"Yep. Supposed to be the perfected weapon. Meant for you." Lust said as Tonya saw what she was getting at.

"So you brought me here for that? No wonder you were so coy before the battle." The girl grinned as she shook her head.

"You have two options. Let me inject this in you and heal your body so we can get our revenge, or die a slow death. Your choice." Lust shrugged as Tonya stared at the thing.

She weighed her options as she thought back on how the others had turned out. Each a different mutation in their own right. Warping them from the person they had once been. But with each new strain, some previous problem had been worked out. Wrath had been near perfect. But his body just hadn't accepted the virus on a cellular level. That was the only reason he'd been warped. After all she'd only heard the full details when they told her that she was next in line for testing. Her body on the other hand had accepted all previous virus strains. It was probably the reason she was still unwarped and still sane right now. So why shouldn't it work now? After all, she only had death to face afterwards. She had nothing to lose.

"Let's do this." Tonya nod as Lust took aim and stuck the girl in the arm. Pushing the plunger down till it couldn't go any further. Signifying the start of her transformation.

* * *

I'm sure many of you could see it coming but it has finally happened. Tonya has accepted what was supposed to be hers all along and has taken her final steps towards permanently damning herself. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to get up this time and we can get on to the really good parts he he. Anyways as always please review and let me know what you think!


	12. Ch 12 Back From the Dead

And once again I live! I apologize to all of you for the long wait on this one. I literally had to go back and watch the Resident Evil movies and play Left4Dead again to find inspiration to finish this one. More about this at the end. For now let's get on with the carnage!

~*Back From the Dead*~

"The last charge set?" A soldier called out as his teammate held up a thumb. "Good. Let's blow this place up and get the hell out of here."

The man shivered as he and his team moved out. Making their way back to their helicopter. They hadn't been too impressed when they'd moved into the city. Encountering nothing as they'd set down on the ground. Wondering exactly what was so bad about the place as they had easily completed their task in less than an hour. They'd read the reports of Garland and the others. Heard the rantings of the disgraced soldiers and other two prisoners. But they had yet to see what was so horrible about the empty city.

"Hey, who's that?" One of the men asked as he motioned back towards the helicopter.

Standing there in old army pants and boots was a very gangly and greyish looking woman. Her blonde hair hung straight down as she kept her back towards them. The men approached cautiously with guns drawn as the woman twitched a bit. She turned and trained her unnatural green eyes flash at them as she grinned, revealing her yellow teeth.

"Why hello boys. Wondering when you'd return." Lust giggled as they aimed at her head.

"Drop to your knees now and put your hands above your head." The commander said as Lust just tilted her head.

A strangled choke could be heard before a body was flung from the cockpit. The men looked down at the pilot to see his neck snapped and turned all the way around as his eyes were frozen in fear. They wondered what had done this as they glanced from the body to a small figure climbing out of the helicopter.

"Everything's ready to go." Tonya said as she kept her head low as Lust lowered her arms.

"We got guests Pride." Lust called out as Tonya looked up at the men.

All of them froze in fear at what they saw. Blood red eyes stared back at them as the girl smirked at the men. Before they could pull the trigger, the girl was already in front of them. Screams rang out in the desolate city as the roar of a helicopter engine easily drowned them out. Bringing life back into the once desolate city as the walking dead raised their voices to sing the song of the dead.

_._._

BIOVOLT headquarters. A pristine base hidden underground in the desert. Kept secret from the public eye, known as a company researching cures for some of the deadliest diseases in the world. When in reality it was just a front for producing biochemical weapons. This is where the former Blitzkrieg Team, Kenny, and Ian were currently being held. Each in their own personal glass cell. A few days had passed since they'd been brought to the base. Since Boris and Voltaire were both currently busy, they would deal with the traitors in their own time. Knowing that the only thing that awaited them was to become lab rats.

"All that work, only to end up like this." Ian griped as he sat in the corner.

"We didn't even get help for the others. They've probably given up hope by now." Kenny sniffled as he curled into a ball.

"At least they have a quick death coming. Ours will be dragged out." Tala growled as he punched the glass door, breaking the skin on his knuckles as he did so.

"We can't give up yet. We can't let the sacrifices of everyone else be in vain." Kai said as he looked at the others.

"How do you expect us to get out of this though?" Spencer asked lifelessly as he leaned against the wall.

Kai didn't know the answer himself. Ever since the ride over he had been trying to devise a way to get them free. To try and get news of what BIOVOLT had done to the public. To prevent another incident from happening again. But this was the headquarters they were in. A secret, impenetrable base that no one knew about. The only one who had any kind of hope of taking this place down was dead now. Lying under the rubble of the old base that she'd once escaped.

"Hey, anyone else hear that?" Kenny asked as he lifted his head up.

A low hissing sound could be heard as gas began to fill the chambers. All of them started to cough as they realized what it was. Sleeping gas. Before any of them could fight against it, they collapsed to the ground and were out. Other soldiers with gas masks came and unlocked the cells once they were sure that the prisoners were out. Placing them upon stretchers and strapping them down before wheeling them away to the lab rooms. Preparations began as each slumbering man was hooked up to various machines that would monitor their heart rate, blood pressure, brain patterns, and anything else that could change within their body once the experimenting began.

"Go get the samples. Boris wants us to start as soon as possible so he can begin observation upon return." A man said to Mystel as he snapped his heels together.

Walking silently down the hall he soon met up with others from his team. MingMing and Crusher had also been assisting in the prep of the captured subjects. The three walked in silence as they headed to the storage room that held the various strains of the virus. Not wanting to dwell on what was going to happen to those that were deemed lab rats. Knowing that was the price one paid when they went up against BIOVOLT. Just as they were thinking this, the lights began to flicker until all power snapped off. The emergency lights kicked back on, casting a red glow upon everything.

"What's going on?" Crusher demanded as he spoke into his radio.

"We're under attack! The mutations have gotten loose! Send back—" The man let out a scream before being cut off. Crushed cursed as he and his two other members headed down the hall as the alarms sounded.

Back in the testing rooms Tala was just starting to come around. As he looked around he saw that he was in a plain room with nothing but surgical instruments around him. The room was illuminated by a soft red glow as he looked around. A slight noise could be heard as Tala looked above him. Wondering what was going on. The red lights only came on when the main power was knocked out. And since this base couldn't be affected by anything from the outside, his mind immediately snapped to one conclusion. Something had escaped. His suspicions were only confirmed as he looked around to see blood smeared and splattered all over the room. And lying in the corner was the scientist who'd first wheeled the unconscious soldier into the lab. Tala slowly sat up as a headache began to form.

"Wait….shouldn't I be strapped down?" Tala muttered as he looked down to see the straps that had been cut off him. "What in the world is going on?"

Tala shook his head and fought back the pain as he swung off the table and struggled to keep his balance. Once the initial wave of dizziness passed, Tala slowly made his way out of the room and into the hallway. Only to be greeted by a similar sight. Men were lying scattered about the place with huge gaping holes in them. And on the wall was a message written in blood. Save them.

"Tala, you're ok!" Spencer hollered as a smile broke out across his face.

"So we're all here?" Ian asked as he and Kai came around the corner carrying Kenny with them.

"Question is, who let us all out?" Tala asked as he motioned to the carnage around them. His gaze landing on the message last as the others just remained silent.

"Infected in the south corridors! Requesting reinforcements!" A voice called over the intercom as the small group stood there listening.

"We're pinned down here in the west corridors as well!" Another voice hollered as the others looked around at each other.

"Did the infected get loose?" Kenny asked as Kai looked away from the group to the bloody message on the wall.

"I'd say someone let them loose. To act as a distraction for us." The man whispered as the others all caught on to his train of thought.

"Some is carrying on Tonya's will. Let's not let their efforts be in vain." Ian snarled as he punched his hand.

The others nodded as they made their way out of the testing section and back to where it hooked up with the heart of the base. Picking up weapons from those lying dead on the ground. Feeling no remorse for any of them after knowing what their company had been a part of. Knowing that those lying dead were just as guilty as those who'd ordered the destruction of the cities by setting loose the virus in the first place. Red filled their vision as the emergency generators struggled to kick back on. Screams filled their ears as Kenny quickly hacked into the system while the others stood watch around him as he tried to find out where the rest of the survivors were.

"A little hurry would be nice." Spencer hissed as the screams grew louder. Meaning that something was coming their way.

"I'm going as fast as I can. Why does this damn place have so many fucking firewalls!" Kenny spat as Ian found himself chuckling.

"Not like you to lose your cool." Ian grinned before turning his attention towards the sound of growling.

Standing just down the hall was a Tank. Fresh blood coating it as the huge zombie lumbered towards them. Guts and ground up bone dripping from its mouth as the thing began to jog towards them. All of them trained their guns on the head as the zombie began to pick up speed. Ready to jump out of the way should the need arise. But before any of them could fire off a shot, the monster stopped and tilted its disfigured head at them. The monster tilted its head the other way before making a grunting sound and turning away from them. Heading back the same way it'd come.

"What was that all about?" Tala asked as Kenny started to cheer.

"Who cares? I've found out where the others are being held. Just a floor above us in the east section." Kenny said as the others nodded.

"Alright, start charting a way of escape for us once we get them. Spencer keep an eye on him. Let's move out!" Kai hollered as the group began to push forward again.

It was a long and arduous process. Sneaking around the base, taking out what little opposition came their way, slowly moving forward as they could see their goal in sight. One thing kept bugging them though, while they expected the attack from the soldiers they met very little resistance from the zombies. Only the hoard zombies ever came after them. The more deadlier ones would always look at them for a few seconds before moving on and taking out another soldier or scientist. While the others weren't going to question this good luck, it bugged Tala to no end. Wondering just how long their good luck would last. He would get his answer shortly.

"Argh!"

A dying scream echoed loudly from behind them before a guttural growl could be heard. One that sent chills down the spines of all the men as they slowly turned to see a huge demon hound looking at them. Slimy tentacles slithered around behind its head like snakes as muscle remained stretched over where the eyes should be. A heaving rotting scent clung to the beast as it slowly slinked its elongated body towards them. The creature was nothing but muscle with a few holes in it. Allowing them to see inside the thing. Its claws clanked on the stone floor as the thing pulled its lips back to reveal two rows of sharp teeth as a long tongue lolled out of its mouth. The thing let out a howl that was a mixture between a scream and a roar as it charged the group.

Those with weapons turned and took aim. But they were unable to hit the thing since it was so fast. The creature easily knocked Kai, Ian, and Kenny aside as it turned its attention towards Spencer. Pinning him to the ground as it dug its claws into his shoulder. Earning a scream from Spencer as he listened to the tearing of muscle, tendon, and finally the snap of bone as the creature just seemed to grin at the man writhing in pain. Acting quickly, Tala shoved the barrel of his gun into the creature's mouth and fired off round after round as the creature hollered in pain. It swiped its huge paw at Tala and sent him crashing into a nearby wall. Knocking his gun from his hand as Tala struggled through the haze as the creature charged him. Determined to make him pay for what he'd done.

"Tala!" Kai hollered as he fired at the thing, barely doing any damage as the creature kept charging the still downed man.

A loud roar could be heard once again, as the others just watched in horror as the creature descended up the red head. But the finishing blow never came. The haze slowly lifted as Tala looked up to see a small figure standing before him. Holding back the creature's jaws as the thing struggled with whoever it was that keeping it from its kill. A low giggle could be heard before the person brought their leg up and kicked the hound hard in the jaw. Quick as lighting the person pulled out a large hunting knife and quickly drove it up into the skull of the demon. It stumbled away, letting out muffled cries before falling over. Twitching a bit before finally going still and laying dead.

"I think I cut that one just a little too close." A familiar voice sighed as she walked forward and pulled her knife out of the creature that was easily three times her size.

"You find them?" A voice crackled over a headset as silence filled the corridor.

"Yeah. Just in time too. They ran into one of those fucking annoying dogs. Ugh, I think I got some slobber on me." She whined as the other voice laughed. "You almost got the main power back on?"

"Just a few more seconds and I'll have it. You know, you should've told those damn things not to take out the main breaker. Would've made my job easier." The other one griped as the girl let out another laugh.

"My bad Lust." She said as Tala began to stand up.

"It can't be….We watched you get buried alive….How are you…." Tala couldn't finish his sentence as he stared at the girl before him.

"They should be coming back up any moment now." Lust said as the lights finally snapped on.

"Thanks Lust." A familiar brunette said as she let go of the button on her mouth piece.

"Heading back your way now Pride." Lust replied before falling silent.

Tala stood there in stunned silent as he looked at the figure before him. Slowly, she turned and faced him fully with a slight grin on her face. Tala scanned over the girl that they'd all once believed was dead. The girl was alive and well. The gaping wounds that had been left by Wrath were healed and scarred over now. She was out of her clothes and was now dressed shorts that had attachable bottoms (think of the second resident evil) with a black halter top that had straps that crisscrossed in front before wrapping around her neck like a choker, along with her usual boots. Her skin looked a tad paler than usual, but that wasn't the biggest shocker. Her eyes now glowed a crimson red as a black hole sat in the center of them. One side of her upper lip stretched up into a smirk, revealing fangs as Tonya tapped her hip with her unusually long nails.

"Surprised to see me Red?" Tonya asked as Tala just stared on in disbelief.

* * *

As I mentioned before, I had to go back and find my will to do this chapter. It was just one of those ones where no matter how I went about it, nothing came out right and I hated the direction it was going in. So after rewatching and replaying everything that had inspired to write this story in the first place I finally came up with a good direction that I'm happy with. Again I apologize for the wait but hopefully I won't have to put this one on the back burner for much longer.


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